Icha Icha Gambit
by TheSilverScarecrow
Summary: It was a risk; one that could potentially ruin their team, however, who was Hatake Kakashi to argue with the Hokage? But when a never to be finished Icha Icha draft falls into his possesion things start getting wildly out of hand as Sakura does whatever it takes to protect their village from a devastating weapon. KakaSaku
1. Chapter 1 Placing the Pieces

**Disclaimer -**I do not own Naruto - trust me, if I did Kakashi's mask would have been removed a LONG time ago ;)**  
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**Icha Icha Gambit**

**A/N**So here it is! I'm really looking forward to what everyone thinks and will try to updat as much as possible. Its going to be a large project so please stick with me if it interests you ^^  
I will warn you, there is going to me mature content! **  
**

**Chapter 1: Placing the pieces**

"Umm...sorry?"

Tsunade sighed heavily.

"Look, I know this probably sounds ludicrous, but I'm sure you understand how limited for choice I am for this particular mission."

Kakashi stared at her. He had never openly glared at the Hokage before, with obvious reason, but right then he was considering how much of a real chance he might have if it came to a fight. It was no secret the woman could have thrown him through the wall, but she'd have to catch him first.

Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Well?"

He narrowed his own further.

"I am NOT doing this."

"I do believe, as your Hokage, you are supposed to follow my orders."

He folded his arms and lifted his chin slightly in a gesture that screamed defiance.

The blonde rolled her eyes, taking two sake cups out of her drawer, along with the notorious bottle that always seemed close at hand. "Here." She pushed one towards him whilst downing hers in one gulp.

He ignored it and continued to glare.

"Hatake, if you continue to look at me like that, I will throw you off this tower."

He sighed and uncrossed his arms. Truth be told, the woman sure could move when she wanted to, and as he'd never actually sparred with her personally, he could only guess his speed _might_ outmatch hers.

"Look Hokage-sama, there are plenty of other shinobi who could do this. They'd probably be grateful too. I just can't believe I am your only choice, and to be honest, this feels like something Jiraiya would think up." He tapped his pouch where the little worn orange book sat.

Tsunade smiled at the mention of her late friend and nodded. "It does, doesn't it?" She poured herself another cup of sake and looked at the copy ninja matter-of-factly. "This has to happen. Sakura is the only person I can send on this mission. She's got the strength to protect herself if something goes wrong and the ability to heal herself thoroughly. I need my best kunoichi on this, and she's my best. But.." She sighed deeply, contemplating the bottle in front of her. "I can't let her go until.." she waved a hand.

Kakashi regarded the Hokage with a skeptical eye. He was half wondering whether this was some kind of poorly thought out revenge for catching him glancing over the rather distracting sight of her sleeveless kimono which was revealing a little more cleavage than usual, if that was even possible. The fact she was angry at that was beyond him. They weren't exactly hard to miss, and he was only a man, after all. He sighed.

"Why not ask Naruto? I'm sure he'd be more than happy."

Tsunade snorted derisively in a way that reminded the silver-haired shinobi of Sakura.

"I'd prefer it done by someone older, with more experience; someone who'll be gentle."

Kakashi cocked an eyebrow at her. "Who says I'll be gentle?"

"She used to be your student. I know you care for her, because I do, so I know you're the right person for this job."

"Then why don't you do it?" Kakashi snapped, in a very un-Kakashi-like way.

She glowered at him.

"What about Sai? He could probably do with the practice."

"I said older and more experienced, not socially inept."

"Genma, then? Hell, Gai even. Anyone else."

"Genma is scouting this mission and leaving in two weeks and I would not set Gai on my worst enemy. Besides, would you really be comfortable if I asked any of the other older shinobi to do this?"

"Yes," Kakashi deadpanned.

Tsunade jumped to her feet, slamming her palms against the desk, clearly over arguing. "This is happening. I need this to happen, because I cannot possibly send my apprentice on _this _kind of mission with her still being.. " She trailed off, her expression softening slightly.

"Couldn't Shizune go on this mission instead?" Kakashi offered.

Tsunade shook her head, sitting herself down and picking up the cup she had previously offered Kakashi. "Shizune is definitely a talented medic, but I wouldn't feel safe sending her in there without the kind of brute strength Sakura has. It's not that I doubt her ability, it's just..."

"You know Sakura will be more likely to put a man through the floor." Kakashi offered.

Tsunade smirked as she raised the cup to her lips. "Precisely." She took a sip and looked the Copy Nin in the eye. "Besides, Shizune is scheduled to be in Suna in a week anyway and the target is only going to be on Hachimitsu Island for three days and Shizune won't be back in time."

Kakashi sighed heavily.

"This is vastly inappropriate, even by my standards."

"Kakashi, if you read that rubbish Jiraiya wrote I doubt much is inappropriate by your standards."

"Exactly."

Tsunade placed the cup down with a sigh. "This isn't exactly easy for me either, you know. You used to be her teacher, you're still her comrade and superior, and if anyone were to find out it would definitely look sketchy at best." She rested her chin on one hand, while the other played idly with the cup in front of her.

"You know why I wouldn't feel comfortable asking one of the other jounin, or even her younger friends to do this?"

"It couldn't possibly be because it would make them either feel like a perverted old man or a ridiculously uncomfortable idiot, would it?" Kakashi asked drily.

Tsunade actually smiled. "A lot of attitude hidden under that mask, hm?"

"Mn," was his only response. He shook himself mentally, not usually letting his emotions get the better of him.

"I'm a woman. As such, I know how important it is for it to be right, and I love Sakura, I don't want to give this to one of the younger shinobi because I don't want it to be some clumsy tryst, and I don't want to ask any of the other older shinobi because it would just be another mission. There would be no consideration for her at all."

Kakashi folded his arms again. He was quickly losing his patience, which for him was saying something. This had to be the most ridiculous thing he had ever been asked to do. Hell, this _was_ the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard of anyone being asked to do. Sure, he cared about his students. Sure, he could understand Tsunade's reasoning to a point, but still..

"Tsunade-sama, I just- it's too.." He shrugged, unable to find the words.

She sighed again. It was something she seemed to do a lot when faced with this man. "You're the only one who can do this. It needs to happen, she needs to go. This is a big mission for the Leaf. The Intel she gathers could be invaluable."

Kakashi put his hands in his pockets and fixed her with his best stoic stare.

"Please?"

Kakashi blinked. Since when did the Godaime say please?

"She won't go for it." Kakashi replied.

"Convince her."

"How?"

"I'm sure you've had plenty of practice," the blonde drawled.

"So? The girl has ridiculous expectations."

"Meet them."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow in response.

"Besides, she's not that deluded anymore. Barely last week, she kicked some guy out of the hospital for assuming it was ok to call her sweetheart."

"I'm sure you were proud," Kakashi said sardonically.

"Very, but that's not the point. I believe you will be successful in this mission."

"Successful.." Kakashi repeated the word back to her. "It's more than a ten year gap.."

"What's age where skill is involved?" Tsunade was considering the sake bottle again. She glanced at the clock. Was one-thirty too early for one more? "So, do you accept this mission?"

"Do I have much of a choice?"

"If you don't I'll just assume you don't need it anymore and remove it."

Kakashi paled.

Tsunade raised her eyebrows.

"Fine."

"Good! To business then, Hatake-san."

Kakashi stared at her. To business? How could she be pleading for her young apprentices' virtue one minute and then be so matter-of-fact about it the next?

"You realise this could destroy our team?"

"She'll forgive you. You're Kakashi-sensei," Tsunade shrugged. "The girl worships you."

Kakashi felt a little smug at that. Of course she did. All his teammates did, and so they should. Admittedly they had all gone their separate ways for a while but they had come back together a stronger team because of it, and although their respect outwardly seemed to lessen over the years, he still knew they looked up to him. Which was why accepting this seemed all the more terrible.

"You realise this could destroy my soul?"

Tsunade openly snorted. "Please, I've read all the Icha Icha books. Having a pretty girl call you sensei? I'm sure it's some-"

"That's not the point." Kakashi cut in, rather bravely, he thought. "It's one thing to mildly entertain a brief thought while your little student runs ahead of you in tiny shorts, it's another set of moral dilemmas entirely to actually _act _on it."

"There is no one else for this particular mission."

"Tsunade, you're asking me to take my students virginity."

She raised her eyebrows at him, but chose to let the lack of honorific drop in light of his current stresses.

"You're taking her virginity like it's a pawn in shogi."

"A necessary move, however sadistic it may seem."

Kakashi gave her a dead eye.

She didn't blame him, it was ridiculous. She knew, however, what would happen if she sent Sakura to the Hachimitsu Resort without the issue of her virginity being addressed. She couldn't stand the thought of that being her first time, especially when considering the kind of low, filthy rich bastard her target was. Kakashi was definitely the better option, whether he saw it or not. "Kakashi, if it makes you feel any better, I'll talk to her afterwards and explain the whole thing, she'll forgive you."

"It does not."  
"Just go!" The irate Hokage bit at him, her patience snapping.

Kakashi gave her the filthiest look he dared and could manage with only one eye. She responded in kind by throwing the now empty sake bottle at his head. He disappeared in a puff of smoke and the bottle collided with the wall. Tsunade sighed heavily and put her head in her hands. The door cracked open, and looking up, she found herself staring at that familiar pink head.

"Tsunade-shishou, is everything alright?"

Tsunade smiled up at her apprentice looking a little wary. "Oh, you know, just a run in with your dear sensei."

Sakura smiled. "Was he ridiculously late again?"

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Something like that." She watched Sakura, who was eyeing the remains of the bottle with the kind of expression that told the old sannin she was about to be rebuked for drinking so much again. She decided to divert the oncoming lecture.

"Actually, Sakura, could you do me a favour?"

"Sure."

"I want you to tag along with Kakashi for a while. I'm sick of him moping around and you two are pretty close, right?"

Sakura blinked at her master. "Umm, well.. I guess. I mean, he's Kakashi, so he doesn't exactly pop around for unnecessary chats or whatever, but he's my Sensei and we're teammates, so..." she shrugged.

"Sensei.." Tsunade mused. "Suppose that makes him feel old."

Sakura wasn't quite sure where this was going. It wasn't like she called the Hokage her sensei, so there was no jibe at her in that sentence that she could see. "Maybe it does," she replied with a smile, "but I think he secretly loves it." She rolled her eyes, placing a hand on her hip. "Especially with his morbid fascination with Jiraiya-sama's books. I mean, I read them out of curiosity and all, and I'm pretty sure in _every_ book the female characters refer to the protagonist as sensei." She shook her head. "I'm sure Kakashi-sensei must get some perverse pleasure at hearing his only female student still refer to him as, well, sensei."

She stopped, looking up at Tsunade all of a sudden; afraid she may have said something inappropriate. "Please don't think I'm saying Kakashi-sensei would EVER do anything like that! I'm just saying he's almost as perverted as Jiraiya-sama. Not that-!"

"Sakura," Tsunade interrupted with a sigh. "Stop babbling. It doesn't matter anyway; technically Kakashi isn't your sensei anymore so even if something were to ever happen it wouldn't even be an issue." She smiled slightly at the shocked look on her young pupils face. "Besides," she added with a coy smile, "I hear he's quite attractive underneath that mask. A little fun with an older man could be just what you need."

Sakura flushed. Was she really having this conversation with her shishou? _Again? _She cringed, remembering how the crafty Godaime had plied her with rice wine one night and enticed the information regarding her lack of sexual experience out of her. She glowered at the older woman.

Tsunade shrugged, "just saying, Ayame-san caught a glimpse of him once when he was eating and she swore he had the most attractive face she had ever seen on a man."

"Really?" Sakura sounded skeptical. Why would someone so handsome _hide_ his face? "I still reckon he's got some kind of ugly mole or something."

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "What if he's so good looking it would be distracting to his opponents?"

Sakura eyed her suspiciously. "Shishou, do you have some kind of crush on Kakashi-sensei?"

The older woman just barely managed to stop herself throwing the desk at her clearly stupid apprentice. She took a deep breath. "No, Sakura."

Sakura giggled nervously at Tsunade's unimpressed tone. "Sorry, shishou."

"I'm just curious. Aren't you?"

"Well, Naruto and I used to try all the time.." she smiled, remembering how their sensei always had one up on them. The last time Naruto tried it ended up with him being hung by his ankles on the washing line outside Kakashi's window. It had been quite a sight to see the hero of the village in such a degrading position.

Tsunade smiled slyly. "Maybe you haven't been using the right tactics."

"You think if we stole his Icha Icha collection and threatened to burn them he'd take the mask off?" A familiar gleam entered Sakura's eyes at the thought. Tsunade sighed. She was almost ashamed Sakura was still this innocent at twenty.

"That's not quite what I meant.."

Sakura looked at her questioningly.

"Well, there are certain things, as a kunoichi, you could offer in exchange..."

Sakura burst out laughing. She was still bent over when Shizune entered the room, eyeing the two women with genuine concern. Given the look on Tsunade's face, Sakura was either being very brave or extremely stupid.

"What's so funny?" the older medic asked, slightly concerned by the twitch in Tsunade's left eyebrow.

"Tsunade-shishou wants me to seduce Kakashi-sensei!"

"What?" Shizune looked at her master, confused.

"I'm just saying, Sakura, to be a fully capable kunoichi there are things you just _need_ to know how to do, and this could be good practise."

"You want me to seduce my sensei." She waited for her master to laugh.

"He's not your sensei anymore."

Sakura's brow furrowed. Sure, that much was true. It had been quite a few years since Kakashi had officially been her sensei, but he was her comrade, her captain, a friend who occasionally kept her company when the two of them were in the village together between missions...

Shizune scrutinised the Godaime's face suspiciously. "Tsunade-sama, what are you-"

"Anyway!" Tsunade cut in quickly. "Sakura, I need you to keep an eye on him. I have given him a mission and I need you to, err... Help him."

"What kind of mission could Sharingan Kakashi need my help for?" Not that Sakura would mind a break from the hospital. It had been a while since she had the chance to run around punching enemy ninja. The idea made her grin. Yep, she could definitely use the workout.

"Resting."

Sakura blinked. "What?"

"He has been on a few demanding missions lately. He isn't injured so confining him to the hospital will be a waste of our time and resources, but I'm benching him for two weeks and I need you to keep an eye on him, make sure he doesn't try to sneak off with a mission. Those girls on the jounin mission's desk are quite susceptible to his charm, I've heard."

Sakura nodded. Kakashi could definitely be charming; she experienced it firsthand whenever he persuaded herself, Naruto or Sai to pay for dinner. The fact he could even get Sai to pay said something of his abilities in that area. It made sense he could charm some of the younger female chunin into overlooking his grounded status to give him a mission. Especially if he was as handsome as Ayame-san suggested... Not that that mattered. Nobody could see his face. Although, not that they needed to...

Tsunade openly grinned. She couldn't help it. It was almost too easy to plant the ideas in the young girls head, and it might help Kakashi out if Sakura was already starting to entertain thoughts about him.

"Make this your priority. You're dismissed, Sakura."

Sakura bowed to her shishou and left.

"What are you doing?" Shizune's eyes narrowed as she dumped some papers on the Hokage's desk.

"Nothing," the woman replied, flicking a blonde pig-tail over her shoulder. "What's this?"

"Mission reports. Tsunade, you can't actually be-"

"Shizune, leave."

"But-"

"If you don't, you can go down to the archives and spend the next five hours making sure the files are alphabetised."

"See you later, Tsunade-sama."

* * *

This was nuts.

Ridiculous.

Sick.

Perverted.

Deplorable.

Kakashi stopped listing any appropriate words he could think to describe his situation to watch a familiar blonde head pushing through the crowds to get to him.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi cringed. "You know, Naruto, I haven't technically been your sensei for a few years now."

Naruto punched the stoic man playfully on the shoulder. "Don't be crazy, you'll always be sensei to us!" the blonde smiled widely.

Kakashi rubbed his arm. Crazy was another appropriate word.

"Have you seen Sakura-chan?"

Kakashi tensed. "No."

"Ah man, I was hoping she would join me for lunch, but she wasn't at the hospital and I just came from Baa-chan's and she wasn't with her either. You reckon she'd be with Sai?"

Kakashi shrugged.

"Naruto!"

They both turned around to see the aforementioned kunoichi running towards them waving. Kakashi studied her with more scrutiny than usual. Sure she had gotten attractive over the years. He had pretty much admitted this to the Hokage. He couldn't help looking every now and then, especially since she had turned eighteen and it didn't make him feel _as_ perverted. She had a nice figure, bright eyes, cute smile, smooth looking skin... but that hair was just a ridiculous colour on a woman. Seriously, it screamed adorable and young. Maybe if she dyed it..? But then, she wouldn't be Sakura anymore, and he didn't want that. He realised, with a sigh that no matter how appealing she may be as a woman, there was no shaking that little girl he knew her as. Albeit a little girl that could break him in half.

"Hi, Sakura-chan!"

She smiled at her teammate, before turning to Kakashi.

"Hey sensei," –he cringed again- "What did you do to Tsunade-shishou?"

"Hm?"

"She was pretty angry.."

He shrugged.

"Anyway, she asked me to keep an eye on you these next few weeks."

Kakashi looked at her questioningly.

"How come?" Naruto asked, looking between his two friends with mild curiosity.

"Apparently she ordered him to rest, and for some reason she's under the impression he's going to try and charm a mission from the desk girls.."

"Does she?" Kakashi asked with feigned indifference.

Naruto laughed at this. "Practising your seduction techniques, aye sensei?" Sakura slapped him on the head. The Jinchuuriki rubbed over his blonde locks with a chuckle. "I doubt he needs practise anyway, with all the books and advice from Ero-Sennin, right Sensei?"

"Mm."

Sakura rolled her eyes and stalked towards Ichiraku. "Coming?"

"Hell yeah!" Naruto punched the air and ran after her.

Kakashi watched them go. They may be two respected shinobi in their own right now, but some things never changed. He found his eyes lingering slightly on Sakura's behind. Then again, some things did. He sighed inwardly. An appreciation of physical features was not going to be enough for him to be able to do this. Which was strange as he never really gave that much thought to his conquests. They, however, weren't trusted teammates he would have to work with again. How was he supposed to do this and still maintain their friendship? Somehow he couldn't imagine Sakura ever going for casual sex. Admittedly all he had to go on was her adoration of Sasuke, and that was a long time ago. He really had no idea what situation her love life had been in since twenty minutes ago and he really wasn't welcoming the insight.

The behind in question suddenly stopped moving and turned. Kakashi's eyes snapped up to see a slightly frowning Sakura looking at him.

"You coming?"

"Mm."

Clearly she planned on starting her "mission" now. Kakashi slouched a little more and followed her almost begrudgingly. He couldn't believe that blonde-haired slug had done this to him. Not only that, she had made sure Sakura would be around constantly. He was sure he'd be able to slip away from her, but there were only so many places he could hide and if she made it her business to follow him around he had no doubt she would succeed. He glared at that ridiculous hair. He honestly couldn't remember being in this bad of a mood since Gai had beaten him at tracking down that goddam cat when they were genin. Sure, he had a cold that day, but still, he should have found it first.

He sighed again. Needless to say his day wasn't exactly making him happy.

Sakura stalked up and sat on a stool next to Naruto. Obviously she had been mistaken. There was no way she had just caught her old sensei looking at her ass. Sure it seemed that way. His eyes made the same movement she caught some of the other men in her life doing at times. She had hit Naruto only the day before for such an offense. Admittedly, the self-proclaimed next Hokage had the subtlety of an elephant among mice, but still... Maybe Kakashi-sensei had just been looking at something on the floor? But he had looked up the second she turned around, which meant he knew she had turned... She bit her lip.

"What's up, Sakura-chan?"

She smiled at Naruto. "Oh, nothing."

Kakashi walked in, taking the stool next to her. She glanced up at him and he creased his eye at her, indicating a smile. "We ordered for you already, sensei. I hope that's ok."

He blinked at her. "Mm."

She turned to Naruto questioningly. Sure, Kakashi had never been the most talkative person in her life, but even she had to admit, he was being rather monosyllabic.

Naruto grinned. "I think he's feeling a bit old."

"Or I guess he's just annoyed Tsunade-sama has taken him off the missions roster for two weeks," Sakura offered with a curve of her lips.

"Probably because he's getting old," Naruto added.

Sakura turned at the sound of her old sensei sighing rather dramatically.

"Remember the days when you were terrified of me?"

Naruto and Sakura laughed, picking up their chop sticks as the food came towards them.

"idatake masu!" They chorused. Kakashi dipped his head in thanks then poked his ramen around the bowl. Sakura was watching him carefully out of the corner of her eye. She couldn't believe it had pretty much been eight years and she _still _hadn't seen him without his mask, and she had to admit, Tsunade had piqued her interest in this particular area once again.

"Hi Naruto-kun, Sakura-san, Kakashi-senpai."

Sakura turned to see Sai walking up to them. He was glancing around at the other customers, uncertain. She smiled at him. He had definitely made progress since being assigned to team Kakashi but he still looked awkward and out of place when he was out in public. Naruto patted the seat next to him, and Sai carefully sat on it.

"Want something to eat, Sai?" Sakura asked. He shook his head. She smiled and turned back to her own food. Her eyes hit Kakashi's bowl and she nearly punched him out of sheer frustration. It was gone. He'd eaten the whole thing in the 10 or so seconds she had been distracted with Sai. She sighed agitatedly. How did he do that? It seemed every time they ate together _something _would claim her attention long enough for him to chuck his food down.

"I hope you choke." She muttered.

He looked at her confused and she indicated to his empty bowl. He smiled at her, rubbing the back of his head as if trying to honestly pull off contrite. She rolled her eyes at him and returned to her own ramen. Naruto had just finished his first helping and was being offered a second. She was on a team of pigs.

"So what have you been up to, Sai?" She hadn't seen the pale man in about a week.

"I had a mission," he replied simply.

"ANBU?" She asked. He nodded in response. "Well, I'm glad you're not injured."

He gave that rare, small smile of his and said, "Thank you, Sakura-san."

She couldn't help smiling back. Yep, he had come a long way alright. She looked around at her teammates. Sai listening intently while Naruto explained in detail his last mission to Wind country and how if it wasn't for him, Gaara would probably have died. Sakura rolled her eyes. She doubted very much the Kazekage had even needed his help. She suspected he called on the Leaf to send Naruto as back up sometimes just for company. She glanced to the other side of her to find that Kakashi had taken out his worn copy of Icha Icha Paradise. She rolled her eyes yet again.

"You realise its rude to read that kind of smut at lunch, right?"

"Mm."

She continued to look at him. He seemed a little tense; or as tense as Kakashi could ever be. The usual slouch to his shoulders had a strange tightness to it today, however, and given that Tsunade had clearly tried to take his head off he really must have been feeling angry at being forced to take some time off.

"Everything ok, Kakashi-sensei?" She asked lightly.

"Mm."

She made an exasperated sound and squarely turned her back on him. If he didn't want to talk, she wasn't going to force him.

"Sakura..."

She spared him a glare over her shoulder.

"Do you think you'll always call me sensei?"

She turned around, disbelief clear on her face. "Naruto isn't right, is he?"

Kakashi put his book down and studied her face. She shifted uncomfortably under the extra long stare, wondering what he could possibly have found so interesting about her all of a sudden. When he still didn't say anything, she turned her jade eyes to his and decided to break the awkward silence. "Um, it's no different to what it's always looked like," she muttered.

"What?" Kakashi looked genuinely puzzled.

"My face..."

"Oh." He sat back, and she was unaware that he had even leant forward. "You look older."

She glared at him. "I know working with Tsunade-sama has probably given me a few worry lines _sensei, _but I'm only twenty."

"No, I meant, you've grown up." He said it so simply and with such a happy eye crease she couldn't help but smile back.

"Thank you, sensei."

He seemed to frown slightly. It would have been pretty hard for anyone else to tell, but being on his team for eight years meant she could probably read expression in that one eye better than most people could read their mothers own face.

"Are you really worried about getting old?" She couldn't seriously believe Hatake Kakashi would worry about something so inevitable, but she supposed she had never really known him to speak of his fears. If he even had any; and if this was his, it seemed a pretty silly one.

"Do you think I'm old?"

She laughed lightly. "Years are nothing," she said simply with a shrug. "No one would ever think you were in your thirties to look at you, and you certainly don't act like it." She added a small roll of her eyes at that last part.

He smiled at her then, and she felt a little pride at having seemed to cheer him up a bit.

"I'll always have you to keep me young, I guess."

She looked up at him. Her? Did he mean her specifically or the whole team? She glanced over her shoulder at the two boys, then back at Kakashi who was still smiling down at her. For some reason he seemed to be referring to her alone. She felt a little heat in her cheeks but was smiling brightly up at him. Everyone knew Sasuke had been the centre of attention on team 7, and Naruto became his golden boy pretty quickly. She had never felt back then that Kakashi had really cared for her development that much. After training with Tsunade-sama and being able to prove her worth that first time they were sent on the mission to recover Gaara, she had realised that she didn't need his approval. He had given it back then anyway, and it made her feel great.

She forgave his apparent oversight of her abilities a few years ago when he had explained how he never believed he was capable of bringing out the best in her and was happy someone else had. More than that, he was glad they could be on a team again. He had always been there for her, looking out for her, and she had eventually realised that was the best thing you could ask for from a sensei. He had cared; still did, and that was all that mattered.

Hearing him acknowledge her growth now made her particularly happy at being recognised as his friend outside of their team. She didn't know why, but it made her feel warm. It was nice when your sensei saw you as individually important and not just another part of his routine.

He stood up, ruffling her hair gently. Normally she would have frowned at him for messing up her hair, but she just smiled as he sidled out with a small wave. She turned back to the other boys. Naruto was busy trying to explain to Sai how he could use being an artist to get girls, while Sai was wondering out loud; "get them to do what?"

"Naruto," Sakura sighed, "please don't teach him bad habits."

Naruto turned to her with a grin, which faltered as he glared at the empty seat beside her. "Where's Kakashi-sensei?"

"Oh, he just-" Sakura's mouth dropped open. "No.." she whispered, mortified.

"That damn bastard!" She slammed her fists on the table so hard the dishes shook.

"S-Sakura-chan.." Naruto mumbled nervously.

"He skipped out on the bill AGAIN!"

Naruto blinked at her. "Dammit!"

She threw down some ryo to cover her and her soon to be dead sensei before taking off. He had made her feel good about herself. He had made her let him get away with messing up her carefully placed pink hair. He had made her think she was important in his life. Oh yes, it could be said by all the ninja of Konoha and beyond that Hatake Kakashi could be a charming man, but by the first Hokage she was going to punch him through the ground. If there was one thing in the world she hated, it was being manipulated.

She caught up in time to see him slip through the window of his own apartment. She stopped on the street below, smiling slightly and taking her time to pull her gloves on. She leapt up the building and slipped in quietly.

Pakkun looked up from Kakashi's bed. She placed a finger over her lips and the little pug shrugged before settling his head back on the covers. She stretched her hands above her head idly, before standing in front of his bedroom door.

"**Hiiiii-yaa!"**

* * *

Kakashi jumped out of the way as his bedroom door flew into his kitchen sink. He blinked in utter horror at the little pink headed figure that sidled casually into his living room.

"Hi, sensei," she said sweetly.

Kakashi did not like that tone, especially not in his delicate home.

"Uh, can I help you?" He removed the towel off his wet hair, silently thanking the universe that he had decided to only stand under the water for thirty seconds to cool off in the Konoha summer heat.

"I believe you owe me money."

Kakashi blinked at her. Usually him skipping out on paying was almost expected, and had never warranted a home visit demanding to be repaid. "Oh."

He continued to stare at her confused and scratched his masked chin. "Umm.. Why..?"

Her eyes narrowed dangerously and he noticed her fists were clenched.

"I mean, umm- it's not been-you haven't.."

"Since when have you ever been lost for words?" She raised an eyebrow at him. He chuckled. She had a point, but she didn't have to know how much panic he was feeling at the prospect of having to pay to fix this building after she was done with it.

She crossed her arms over her chest and looked at the couch. He noticed she was worrying her lip with her teeth and frowning in a way that he could only term endearing.

"Sakura-chan?" He tried for endearing himself, something absolutely no one would ever connote with him.

Her eyes snapped up at him and he held his breath.

"You made me feel happy about myself just to squirm out of paying for dinner."

He looked at her. She seemed quite upset by this knowledge, and he wasn't sure why.

"I've been doing as much since I first met you, Sakura," he pointed out.

"Yeah, but.." She glanced around, and then sighed. He studied her closely, watching how the fingers on her left hand picked at her right sleeve.

"You charm everyone," she said finally. "I just thought, after all these years, maybe we were friends enough for you not to have to anymore."

Ah. He gave her his best smile, which was redundant given half his face was covered. "Sakura, I do it to you guys because it reminds me I can still get one over you."

She looked up at him, eyes round in her head.

"Besides," he added with a shrug, "just because I scored a free meal from it doesn't mean it isn't true."

That faint, pink blush tinged her cheeks as she smiled down at her shoes. Demure, he believed was the word for it. Not that he had ever thought of it to describe her before. Anyone who knew her would have laughed at that description. Brash, bold, violent, brutally honest... She looked up at him, still smiling. "Thank you, sensei."

His smiled lessened slightly. "Yunno, Sakura, eventually you'll have to stop calling me that."

She looked at him blankly. "Why?"

"Because friends don't call each other sensei," he gave her a small smile, which she returned.

Then she laughed lightly.

"Unless you ask them nicely." Her smirking mouth turned into a small "o" shape. She looked at him quickly. "I mean, umm.."

Kakashi just stared back. Had that really come out of his little student's mouth? Maybe Tsunade was right about her not being a little girl anymore, but he was pretty sure that was the closest thing to innuendo he had ever heard her say. He realised he needed to say something, and resisted the urge to laugh it off as he would have done before that meeting with his Hokage that morning.

A grin pulled at the side of his mouth for a second, and then he blinked at her. Would he? She was an adult now, whether he struggled to see it amongst all that pink or not, and he occasionally shared a little flirting, a dirty joke here and there, with the other female jounin. Admittedly he shared a lot more with some of them. For the good of his recent "mission" he put his hands in his pockets and fixed her with an amused stare.

"Why Sakura-chan," he teased lightly, "what are you up to behind closed doors?"

It was worth it just to watch that blush creep down her neck before she tried indignantly to glare at him. "That's none of your business!" She snapped.

He chuckled to himself before realising her fists were clenching again.

"Sorry, Sakura," he said quickly, "what's a little fun between friends?"

She rolled her eyes at him, turned, and abruptly left through his bedroom window.

He slouched back against the kitchen counter, the tea he was making forgotten on the top. He pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a sigh. What the hell was he going to do? When he thought about it seriously, if he hadn't known she was a virgin and she instigated a little light flirting, he would have been intrigued by it. He would have gone along with it because everyone loves to have their ego's stroked. He probably would have enjoyed it. He knew her better than any of the other kunoichi in the village and up until that afternoon had always felt most relaxed when he was around her. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more he realised that if this had just been something that had happened by chance, if she had said that without him having Tsunade's stupid mission lingering in the back of his mind, he would have happily pursued that blush.

He liked making her blush.

He blinked at this revelation.

He supposed he could admit that much. Ever since he had complimented her on choosing such an inappropriate length of skirt for her eighteenth birthday, he knew this. It had been reaffirmed the following day when she had dragged herself to training with what was evidently a terrible hangover, and he had casually mentioned she should show off her legs more often. She had blushed furiously and he had chuckled, telling her it would probably be to their advantage when faced with male enemies. Her face had flushed as red as her shirt and she proceeded to punch the ground at his feet.

He smiled at the ceiling

"What was that about?"

Kakashi watched the pug trot into his living room before sitting on the couch and scratching his ear.

"Sakura-chan was a little angry I skipped out on the bill."

The pug stopped scratching to look at him.

"Why are you happy about that?"

Kakashi spared Pakkun a look before turning to observe his door, which had a giant split down the middle. "I just subdued Tsunade's sparring partner without raising a fist. I'm oddly proud."

Pakkun shrugged and curled up.

Kakashi left his door in its new home and flopped down next to him, taking out his beloved Icha Icha and putting his feet up unceremoniously. He didn't really have anywhere to be for the next two weeks. He figured Sakura would be back eventually under Tsunade's orders, and he guessed he could waste time til then. He glanced over at a small shelving unit and found his eyes resting on a small blue book. It wasn't his favourite, but that didn't make it any less good. Maybe he should be doing some research into how to complete his latest mission?

Well he supposed if that was really the case he would be following Sakura around or talking to some of her other acquaintances to see what she liked, but he couldn't quite bring himself to do that yet. If he started down that road, it became real. He sighed heavily, heaved himself off the couch and picked up the blue book. He placed the orange one on the shelf and made his way to the window.

"Later, Pakkun."

The dog made a gruff sound as Kakashi leapt out to the street below. He ambled away through the crowds towards the quieter part of the village, Icha Icha Tactics in his hand.

It was kind of like research, right?


	2. Chapter 2 The thing about Morals

**Chapter 2: The thing about morals.**

"What's up?"

"Nothing."

Genma rolled his eyes and removed the silver senbon from between his teeth. Kakashi continued ignoring him and kept his eyes firmly on his book. Of all the jounin he had come to know over the years, Genma was probably one of the few he would consider a friend. Not aloud of course, but enough to not shrug off his company. He didn't particularly want it now, but had inadvertently invited him over by waving as he caught site of the man heading towards the Hokage tower. He had jumped over and joined Kakashi on his roof top, dropping down next to him with a weary grunt.

"Tough mission?" Kakashi asked, flipping a page and not really caring.

Genma snorted in response. "Bunch of idiot chunin who passed the exam last week thinking they're the shit." He twirled the senbon between his fingers. "One of them nearly got himself killed. Honestly, is it just me or are these kids getting dumber?"

Kakashi huffed in response. He had been at the academy only a few days before as a favour to Iruka and he had definitely left wondering if Konoha's overall IQ would be diminishing over the years. The graduating class had been offered the chance to interview the village's legendary Copy Ninja and the best they could come up with was, "what's your favourite ice cream, Kakashi-senpai?"

"So, um, do you reckon Shizune is seeing anyone?"

Kakashi looked up at that. He fixed a grey eye on the man next to him and waited.

"I just- I saw her at the hospital the other day and she seemed pretty tired and overrun.. yunno, just thought she could do with a night out.."

Kakashi smirked. If any of the other women Genma had dated were to be believed a night out with him was blowing off a lot of steam before he disappeared the next morning. "I think it would be worth it just to see Tsunade's reaction."

Genma stuck the senbon back between his teeth and scratched his head sheepishly. "Yeah, maybe it's not such a good idea."

Kakashi huffed again and turned back to his book.

"Well, better be off. Still have to report back." Genma got to his feet with a grunt. "Ever think we're getting old?" He clapped the other man on the shoulders and turned to leave.

"Genma?"

He looked back at his haughty comrade.

"Do you think we're too old?"

He sat down again, stretching his legs out in front of him and staring at the man slightly confused.

"This isn't about the hair, is it?" He grinned.

Kakashi sighed and closed his book again, resting it in front of him on his knees. He looked out over the village. He loved it this time of day. The sun was just setting, shadows stretching out before him towards the east gate. There was always a buzz in the atmosphere this time of the evening. People were shouting happily to each other as they closed up their shops and the more eager shinobi headed towards the bars in the entertainment district.

"I've been given a mission." He scratched the back of his neck watching some shadows jumping across the rooves on their way out of the village.

He could feel Genma's eyes drilling into him, obviously curious. Kakashi sighed.

"And..?"

He stared towards the centre of the village. His favourite bar was over that way and he had already promised to meet some of the other jounin there later.

"You're coming for a drink tonight?" He asked idly.

"Yeah.."

Kakashi decided he would rather talk about this with a few drinks in him. Genma was not averse to giving his honest opinion when drunk and quite frankly, he would rather hear it in a way that would prove amusing if nothing else.

"I'll talk to you then."

He got to his feet and jumped off the tea house.

"Kakashi-san!"

He smiled and waved at the attendant who he had narrowly missed landing on and opened his book again, wandering in the general direction of home. A few people waved and called out as he passed, but he was in no mood to entertain. Not that he usually would have stopped anyway, but tonight he was feeling particularly vindictive. Drinking probably wasn't the wisest decision considering but it had been too long since he'd been out with any of the old crowd and they were starting to call him out on it.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

Plus he did kind of miss the amazingly messy fun that was guaranteed when a group of over-worked, stressed jounin got together over drinks. The opportunity to act like complete children one night a month was definitely appreciated. Kakashi had to admit missing the last two had been a bit disappointing on review. The first one he had been out of the village on a mission, and the second time he just couldn't be bothered dragging himself away from the couch. He had regretted it a little the next day, and even though he wasn't overly thrilled at the idea at the moment, he knew once he was out he would have a good time.

"Sensei!"

He found his way blocked by a pair of black heels. He looked up; taking in the close fitting blue dress and the exposed shoulders, before resting what he hoped was a happy eye on his student.

"Yo."

"Ignoring me isn't nice."

He smiled at her narrowed eyes and pout.

"Sorry, Sakura. The plot of this one is pretty engaging."

She rolled her eyes at the blue book before flicking a loose pink strand out of her eyes.

"You look nice," he commented. Nice was an understatement. She looked like she was out for flesh tonight. If the Hokage hadn't told him herself there would be no way in hell he could look at this girl and say she was still a virgin. To be honest, he was a little surprised. She was a pretty girl, and it was an occupational hazard for kunoichi to be virgins. He wondered if she even knew how to seduce a man. Surely there have been missions where that would be required? But he supposed if the Hokage was your master then you'd be pretty protected from the more degrading missions... Until now.

"Sensei?"

"Mm?" He blinked down at her.

"I asked if you were heading out tonight."

He considered her suspiciously. "Maybe.."

"Oh, good," she beamed up at him. She seemed genuinely happy, but he supposed it would make her job easier if he was around. That way she could keep an eye on him and still have fun.

"See you later, sensei!"

She waved joyfully over her shoulder and caught up with a blonde girl that could give Tsunade a run for her money in the breast department. She was Asuma's student, he knew that much. What was her name again? He had gone on that mission with her shortly after his old friend's death... Ino, that was it. She waved at him, looking a tad more mischievous than he thought was warranted. He raised his hand back and carried on towards home. If he was lucky, he could squeeze in a little nap before he had to go out.

* * *

"Ino, hurry up!"

"I'm coming, forehead!"

Sakura growled under her breath. Her patience had been wearing thin with the girl for the past hour. She must have tried on seven different dresses, and then gone through five different hair styles while Sakura had sat on her couch flicking through a magazine. The blonde walked out of the bathroom, and Sakura had to admit, however begrudgingly, that Ino looked stunning for her efforts. She wore a simple black dress that accentuated her pale blue eyes amazingly, and her blonde hair was brought forward over one shoulder.

Ino caught her friends look and grinned. "Pretty hot, hey?"

"Mmm," Sakura intoned, turning back to the glossy pages.

"Sometimes wish you had let your hair grow out?" Ino walked over to the table looking for her purse.

"Sometimes," Sakura replied, picking at her short pink hair and wondering if there was a way to make it any flatter in the back. Ino smiled at her before grabbing hold of her arm and dragging her off the couch.

"Pig! What are you doing?"

"Come on!" She said cheerily, pulling her into the bathroom. Ino sat her on the bath tub and pulled out some pins. She leant over, pins in her mouth and started pulling back Sakura's hair.

"You can try all you like but it does its own thing anyway." Sakura tried fixing her gaze anywhere but on her best friend's giant breasts, but lord help her they were everywhere.

"So is Sai coming out?" Ino asked nonchalantly, tugging, pulling and pinning her friend's hair. Sakura rolled her eyes before muttering that she thought so.

"He's pretty cute in that pale, mysterious artist way."

"If you say so." Sakura had never really considered Sai attractive and couldn't see what her friend's fascination with him was.

"There you go!" She patted Sakura on the head and moved out of the way so she could have a peek in the mirror.

"Wow." She blinked a little surprised at the head before her. Ordinarily Sakura had to fight her hair into a simple ponytail for the hospital, or else left it down, but Ino had managed to pin it back in an elegant swoop. A few strands of hair that were too short were tucked behind her ears, and she had to admit, she was impressed.

"Ino, it looks great!"

Her friend grinned smugly before walking into the living room. "Come on then," she called back, "before the clock strikes twelve and it all pops out!"

Sakura eyed her friends dress pointedly. "Are we talking about the same thing?"

Ino rolled her eyes and headed for the door. "We're going to be late!"

"And whose fault is that?"

Sakura shut the door behind her and followed Ino out to the street where a rather irate looking Shikamaru was waiting. "Really?" Ino asked upon seeing him, "you couldn't have put anything else on?" Shikamaru glowered at her.

"Took your time."

Ino laughed and looped her arm through his. "Now, now, Shika-chan! It takes time to look beautiful."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes and started walking. Sakura had to admit, most of the men she knew didn't divert much in their clothing, and Shikamaru's black pants and shirt were hardly a surprise.

"So we're having dinner first then heading to that bar in the village centre right? I hear the other girls at the hospital talking about it all the time. Apparently the drinks are pretty cheap and some of the older, attractive jounin go there."

Sakura rolled her eyes. Ino wouldn't go home alone if she could help it. And usually it wouldn't take long before she was surrounded by a horde of admiring males. Apparently though, she was growing bored of her usual pickings and wanted to try for someone older.

"Think about it, forehead," she had drawled; "older men have much more experience."

Sakura sighed. She didn't think her friend was wrong, but given her own lack of experience she didn't really have anything to compare to. Ino had been trying to set her up for years but Sakura just couldn't bring herself to follow through. She flirted well enough, and was always up for a little fun make-out session, but actual sex... She supposed she was just being old fashioned about it, but she always thought it should be with someone she cared about, however old or experienced Ino thought they should be...

"Hey, Sakura," Ino poked her in the ribs.

"Ow!" Sakura glared at her, thinking of how fun it would be to punch her in her pretty face and ruin her plans for the night. "What?"

"Isn't that your sensei?"

Sakura followed her pointing finger and watched her sensei walking down the street towards them, nose in his book, as always.

"Yeah."

"Hmm..."

Sakura glanced at Ino, noting the smile creeping across the blondes' lips.

"What?"

"Do you reckon he'd be cute under that mask?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. Her sensei's face had been on her mind all day, and just when she was starting to think of her night ahead, of course Ino would bring it up. It didn't matter if the cheeky blonde wasn't privy to the conversation Sakura had had earlier with Tsunade, it was still annoying.

"Do you think I would be able to get him to take it off..."

Sakura shot her friend a hostile glare. Shikamaru shook his head.

"Ino, I swear to God, you go anywhere near my sensei I will beat you so much no man will look at you again!"

Ino rolled her eyes. "Whatever. You should see if he's coming out tonight though."

"Why?"

"Well," Ino mused, "there's no reason you couldn't try peeking under there."

"Ino!"

"What?" The blonde turned wide, innocent eyes on her friend. Sakura snorted, not buying it for a second. Innocent and Ino were two words that were NEVER meant to be in the same sentence. She couldn't even believe this was happening again. Why were people trying to get her to seduce the mask right off of her sensei all of a sudden? She glared at the pig, which earned her an impressive eye roll.

"Look, even though I bet he would be hell fun, why not just see if he's coming out, and if he is, we can just ply him with drinks and hope the opportunity will arise."

Shikamaru sighed heavily. Sakura couldn't help agree with the sentiment. She had never personally seen Kakashi drink, but she was willing to bet the man wouldn't succumb to their foolish attempts to unmask him.

Ino poked her in the ribs. "Just ask! It could be fun."

Sakura swiped at her friend's hands and turned to glare at her, but that mischievous grin was on her face. Sakura couldn't help but laugh. One thing Ino never denied her was a fun night, and if this was what she was going to latch onto, Sakura would run with it. Who knew, maybe it would actually work? If not it would at least make a fun story.

"Kakashi sensei!" She trotted over waving, but he didn't even look up. She groaned to herself. It was impossible to believe that stupid book, which he had probably read a thousand times, could possibly hold his attention so thoroughly, which probably meant he was ignoring her. Why would he be ignoring her? She slowed down, worrying her lip with her teeth. Had she done something to upset him? Surely he wasn't angry she had kicked his door down. He had seemed fine when she left, so that couldn't be it. Maybe he was just wary of the fact Tsunade had ordered her to keep an eye on him. She snorted. There was no way she was giving up her night out to babysit the Copy Nin and he was deluded to think otherwise.

She stopped directly in front of him. See if he could ignore her now.

"Sensei!" she snapped.

His eyes dragged up her frame, seeming almost to linger in places, and she shifted a little, remembering the first time he had seen her out on the town. That was a nightmare she would soon like to forget. She tugged a little on the bottom of the dress in a way she hoped was subtle before accusing him of ignoring her and getting a reply referring to Icha Icha as having an engaging plot. Yeah, right. She was just gearing up to admonish him for his ridiculous taste in literature, if it could even be called that, when he caught her off guard.

"You look nice."

Sakura took in a little breath. She could feel her cheeks getting warm and prayed he hadn't noticed. Why was he commenting on her appearance? He didn't need to, and he usually wasn't one to indulge in her obsession with looking good. To be honest, she could probably count on one hand the amount of compliments he had ever given her and if it happened it would surely relate to her skills as a ninja, not an outfit. Shaking herself slightly, she forced her mind back on track.

"So I saw you and was wondering whether you would be heading out tonight? I thought I could pay for a drink or two, considering you helped me out with that run to Suna the other month and you didn't have to." She silently praised herself on remembering that. She had said when they got back to the village she would owe him something in return. Perhaps make him a homemade meal, considering she doubted he had many of those. Buying him a few drinks in light of Ino's latest adventure seemed like a way to repay a favour, even if he wouldn't like the outcome if Ino got her way. Speaking of, she caught sight of the blonde grinning like a kid in a candy shop as she passed by with Shikamaru. Sakura ignored her as best she could and looked up at Kakashi, waiting for a reply. She felt her eyebrow twitch as she realised he wasn't listening. He had a faraway look in his eye and she was pretty sure he had no idea what she had just said.

"Sensei?" She praised herself again for how calm her voice sounded.

He blinked and smiled at her. "Mm?"

"I asked if you were heading out tonight?"

He gave her a flat look that made her avert her eyes to her shoes. She had regretted their decision since leaving the house, but she couldn't deny the opportunity to wear ridiculous heels. It wasn't as if she could wear them on a mission, after all.

"Maybe."

She smiled up at him, a little surprised. She knew he didn't go out all that often, so she thought it was pretty lucky to have caught him tonight. "Oh, good." Before he had much of a chance to say anything else, she bounded off after Ino and Shikamaru who had stopped to wait for her, shouting her goodbye.

"Well?" Ino asked, excitement pouring off her.

"He said maybe." Sakura replied, encouraging them to keep going. They were already running pretty late and if they didn't get there soon Choji would start without them, and then who knows what would be left.

"Yes!" Ino whooped. "If he wasn't he would have just said no, right? This is going to be fun! We'll have to get the others to offer drinks as well; otherwise he'll just get suspicious. You'll help, right Shika-chan?"

"No." The boys response was so flat Sakura flinched a little, waiting for Ino to round on him.

"Why not?" Ino fixed her best butter-wouldn't-melt-in-my-mouth look on him. Shikamaru sighed and massaged his forehead. "You're so troublesome."

Ino giggled happily, evidently satisfied she had him on board.

After a further ten minutes, they found themselves outside of their favourite grill house. Stepping inside it was easy to recognise their party, as they were the largest and by far the noisiest group in the place. This was mostly due to Naruto and Lee who were talking loudly, a suspiciously empty bottle between them.

"Hi, Sai-kun!"

Sakura rolled her eyes as Ino squeezed in next to the mildly surprised man. Sakura sat down next to Hinata, who smiled her greeting.

"How are you, Sakura-san?" Sakura smiled understandingly at the obviously embarrassed girl. It was hard not to be, with every eye in the restaurant on them.

"I'm great Hinata, you?"

"I'm glad you're here," she laughed nervously, pale eyes darting towards the boys.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto nearly knocked his bottle and a few appetizers flying as he reached over the table to hug her.

"Naruto!" She smacked him on the head. "Sit down!"

The boy blinked at her, before taking his seat and smiling sheepishly. "What are you drinking?" Sakura asked, suspiciously.

"You should try it, Sakura-chan!" He grabbed another bottle from in front of Kiba and hastily poured some of the dark red liquid into an empty glass, spilling some over the white tablecloth. Sakura groaned, thanking the Hokage's she hadn't worn the pale silver dress she had originally planned to that night.

"It's the house special tonight." Tenten explained, smiling over at an obviously frustrated Sakura. "It really is good." She raised her own glass to show she was also drinking it.

"Cherry wine, Sakura-san." Lee explained, before taking a massive gulp from his own glass.

"Umm," Sakura eyed the boy warily. "Is someone keeping an eye on him?" She really did not feel like helping to carry him home again. Master of the drunken fist indeed, he had nearly put her head through a wall last time and it took four of them to pin him down.

"Don't worry, Neji is keeping an eye on him!" Tenten nudged the grumpy looking Hyuuga next to her, who nodded.

"You're not?" Ino asked, helping herself to some deep-fried shrimp.

Tenten grinned happily from across the table. "Hell no!" Sakura laughed. Clearly this stuff was good if more than half their party were starting to get tipsy. In fact, everyone but Hinata, Neji and Shikamaru had a glass in front of them. Choji looked like he was settling into some beef soup, Sai was shakily taking sips of the wine whilst trying to politely answer Ino, and Kiba had two glasses in front of him, apparently taking Shino's from him. She fixed him with a pointed glare and he shrugged, grinning.

She took a sip and blinked in surprise. "Wow." Hinata looked at her.

"Is it really that good?" Sakura felt like her mouth was in heaven. "Hinata," she smiled, "you need to try this."

"Oh no," the girl looked positively mortified. "I'm afraid I can't drink much. Have to set a good example for the House and all."

"Is your house here?" Sakura demanded, slamming her hand on the table and taking a bigger sip this time. She saw Hinata's eyes flick over to her cousin, who just shrugged at her.

"He doesn't count," Sakura said dismissively. She summoned the waitress over with a wave of her hand. "Can we get some more bottles of this cherry wine?"

"Certainly," the woman replied, smiling at the cheers from around the table.

"Right, Hina-chan," Sakura said, draining off the glass. It really was good, and it went down _so _easy. "Tonight, you're going to help Ino and me with a mission, and we all need this wine to fuel our efforts."

"Mission?" Sai asked. Ino frowned at having his attention diverted, but then caught on.

"Yes!" She squealed. "Everyone, we need your help as we embark on the most perilous mission any of our teams have ever faced..."

Sakura laughed as she accepted another bottle from the waitress and poured herself and Hinata a glass. The shy Hyuuga picked it up and sniffed it tentatively. Sakura encouraged her with a smile, and she took a sip. Her eyes widened slightly as she lowered her glass.

"That's amazing."

Sakura grinned and took another sip. She looked around the table at the various responses to Ino's 'perilous' mission. Naruto, Lee, Tenten and Kiba had all agreed enthusiastically, whilst Sai sat there looking perplexed. Neji actually raised an eyebrow, looking a little interested, and Shikamaru rolled his eyes. Shino sat in the corner and didn't show any reaction at all.

Hinata hiccoughed. Sakura's eyes widened as she noted the girl's glass was already empty.

"I think we should do it!" The shy Hyuuga piped up.

"Hell yeah!" Naruto cheerily filled her glass as Hinata's cheeks flushed a little.

Sakura grinned around the table, eyes locking with Ino's. The girl returned her look of burgeoning victory. How could they not succeed? All they needed were a few bottles of this stuff, and if not, everybody had their token alcohol. It wouldn't be hard to find out what Kakashi's was, especially with everyone on board.

Sakura turned to a giggling Hinata, delighted at how quickly this wine kicked in.

Tonight was definitely going to be fun.

* * *

Genma's raucous laugh echoed around the bar and several people close by looked over with goofy grins. Everybody was clearly letting their inhibitions fly tonight and the man was the centre of attention as always. Kurenai giggled into her drink, cheeks pink. Kakashi was glad to see her out with them. She usually had trouble finding a babysitter but had coerced her latest genin team into keeping an eye on the most capable genjutsu user in the 5 year bracket Kakashi had ever met. He almost felt sorry for her students.

Shizune was sitting opposite him, shaking her head at Genma's latest tale of conquest whilst trying to hide a smile behind her hand. It had been a good one, complete with him running home without pants. Gai was sprouting off some garbage about the beauty of youth (no surprise there) and Iruka just rolled his eyes, unimpressed.

Kakashi had to admit, he was having a lot of fun. He was a little disappointed his kohai hadn't shown up but Tenzou had only just returned from a mission an hour ago and was apparently exhausted. However, Genma had been paid pretty well for his last mission and had bought a bottle of whisky to share. Kakashi wasn't an overly big fan of the stuff usually, but tonight he didn't mind the slight burning sensation every time he swallowed.

He had attempted somewhere around their third glass to bring up his latest mission, but he found Genma's response of, "just nail her," to be lacking wisdom. Gai, surprisingly, had been more encouraging, pointing out something to do with youth being shared and beauty knowing no age. Somewhere in the back of Kakashi's mind his more logical self had pointed out that Gai's response was ridiculous, but the fuzzy, happy, eye-creasing Kakashi had silently told his miserable half to shut up. Kurenai and Shizune had been more interested to know who he was talking about. He realised they may figure it out eventually, especially as Sakura worked closely with the other medic and they were bound to talk, but he had distracted them by buying the most brightly coloured drinks he could, some strange purple thing that faded into pink at the bottom. They had accepted it appreciatively and then Genma had taken the attention off him thankfully.

Or so he thought.

"So," Shizune turned her eyes to him. "You never said who you're supposed to be prepping for this mission."

Genma openly snickered. Shizune looked at him, curiosity turning to mild disgust as she realised what he found funny. "Grow up," she drawled, eyes rolling.

"Classified." Kakashi shrugged.

"You think you're too old?" She obviously wasn't going to drop it.

"Yes."

"And she's a virgin?"

"Yes."

"Damn," she breathed.

"You sure Tsunade wasn't drunk at the time?" Genma offered, his grin widening.

Shizune spared him a glowering eye before turning back to Kakashi.

"I guess if it's for the good of the village..." she shrugged.

"It's still a little unfair of the Hokage to ask you to do this though," Kurenai added, gazing at the Copy Ninja sympathetically.

"What?" Genma asked, incredulous. "He's been ordered to sleep with a young, pure, and I'm assuming beautiful, woman. What's the issue?" he turned to the man next to him.

"Just because you have the moral capacity of a sake cup" Shizune spat.

Genma snorted into his drink, taking a sip before continuing. "Look, he's been told he needs to do this. Sure, Kakashi may enjoy tearing himself apart over things he can't change-" Kakashi glared at him. He vaguely recalled enjoying his friends alcohol induced honesty earlier but wasn't averse to sticking that senbon in dark places if he carried on- "but there are definitely worse things he could be asked to do. Frankly, this mission is a walk in the park, and there is no reason why he shouldn't enjoy it."

"I don't think the age thing is that big a deal," Kurenai offered with a smile.

"If she's over eighteen and she consents there isn't really a problem," Iruka agreed.

"What about her delicate purity?" Gai demanded, apparently outraged this was being overlooked. "You must promise before us all, my rival that you will treat this lady with the care and respect she deserves!"

Kakashi inwardly sighed, but decided it would be better to placate the rambunctious fool than having him throw a table through the window again. He had been amazed the bar owner had agreed to let them back after that stint. Drunken Gai really did not like losing at poker, especially to him. "I promise."

Genma smirked. "Forget that, rile her up, turn her round and give her what she needs." His glass exploded against the wall after shizune slammed it out of his hand. "What?" He blinked begrudgingly at the furious medic.

"How the hell you pick up, I'll never know." She snapped, picking up her own drink and glaring at the man.

"Like to find out?" he offered with a smile. Kakashi leant slightly away from him, wondering if he was stupid. Shizune just gave a derisive snort he was thinking came as a consequence of working with the Hokage. "Please," she drawled, "I have a little thing called self-respect."

"That's what they all say," Genma grinned at her. She rolled her eyes and turned pointedly to engage Kurenai in conversation. Kakashi chuckled softly to himself. He had seen this play before, and if Shizune didn't watch her drinks she may be eating her words come morning.

He sat back, content for now. Nobody around the table seemed to think he was doing anything wrong, which was comforting. Except... they didn't know the whole story. He couldn't really think of a subtle way of putting it, and the whisky was advising him to just spit it out.

"What would you do if she and given the mission to you?" he asked the table at large, but mostly was looking towards Gai, Kurenai and Iruka. They were teachers as well, of course.

"I'm surprised she didn't," Genma blurted out.

"Probably because she knows you're a pig who would take advantage of the poor girl," Shizune threw at him. He raised a newly filled glass at her; "touché."

"I would do my bit to ensure Konoha's safety!" Gai, of course.

Iruka shrugged at him. "Suppose it would be a bit awkward but like Genma said, there are worse things to be asked to do." Kurenai nodded in agreement and Shizune added, "I wouldn't normally touch a virgin with a fifty foot long katana, but I'd do it if the Hokage said it needed to be done."

Kakashi nodded at them and scratched his chin, wondering if it was a good idea for his next sentence to-

"What if it was an old student?" So much for thinking that through. He glared at the whisky in front of him, aware everyone at the table had frozen.

Genma was the first to break the silence. "This is to prepare her for a mission coming up, right?" Kakashi nodded glumly.

"I'd do it."

"What?" Kakashi looked up to see an outraged Gai glaring at the brown haired man. He was also aware of the several curious faces that had turned towards them and was actually wondering if he could make it away from their table and out the door before the tirade began and a whole lot more people became aware of the conversation.

"Kakashi-san! You cannot possibly think it is ok to sleep with a student!" Kakashi actually put his head on the table after receiving some mortified looks from a pair of kunoichi sitting at the next one.

"Ex-student," Genma corrected, "it's not the same thing. If she was still his student, it would be sick, sure, but she hasn't been for like, what? six-ish years?" Someone must have nodded above him because Genma continued. "She's a jounin; she is expected to be able to seduce enemy ninja and what not, and being a kunoichi at her age and a virgin isn't healthy."

That's what Kakashi had thought...

"You have a point," Iruka put in, "but it would still make me really uncomfortable. I mean, I know these kids from the academy, I don't think I would ever be able to..." he let his sentence trail off, obviously disturbed by the idea.

"It is morally wrong! You helped raise and mould Sakura-san into the epitome of youth and skill she is today! You would be taking advantage of your position as her sensei!"

"Ex-sensei!"

Kakashi cringed as Gai and Genma continued to argue. Hearing his idiot rival say her name had somehow made it so much worse.

So much for the hypothetical angle.

He probably hadn't helped himself by being silent, but he honestly didn't know what to say, and hadn't he decided to bring this up so he could glean a more thorough perspective from them? He took a deep breath, noticing absentmindedly the table smelt like a rather potent mix of whisky and vodka. He coughed slightly and raised his head. Gai and Genma were still arguing, Iruka watching and nodding along thoughtfully. Shizune and Kurenai, however, had fixed him with look he couldn't quite decipher.

"You need to be careful, Kakashi-san," Kurenai said eventually. "This is a big deal for a woman. Sakura appears to be a late bloomer as far as kunoichi are concerned and she may seem old enough but if she is emotionally unstable you could potentially ruin her."

Kakashi groaned. Since becoming a mother, Kurenai had developed the irritating ability to pick out someone's biggest worry. If her past was anything to go by, Sakura was an absolute mess when it came to boys, Sasuke being the obvious example. He nodded his head at Kerunai's deep red eyes, before turning reluctantly to Shizune, whose stare was drilling its way through his head.

"This explains Tsunade..." she mumbles and shook her head. She took a breath, seeming to consider her words carefully. "Look," she started, "you need to understand I've gotten to be really close to Sakura. I may even know her better than you." Kakashi didn't doubt it. Sure he knew the in's and out's of her ninja abilities, he could read her mood swings so accurately he could plan training sessions to make sure they avoid the first day of her period, but they didn't exactly sit around painting their toenails and gossiping about hospital personnel. He nodded his agreement as she let out a breath.

"But, I actually think you'd be good for her."

Genma's senbon fell to the table with a clatter. They all looked at her, stunned. Gai looked like someone had just kicked his puppy, or maybe his favourite student. Kurenai was looking at her thoughtfully, and both Genma and Iruka were gaping at her. Shizune ignored them and fixed her eyes upon the one of Kakashi's she could see, and smiled at the evident surprise she saw there.

"I know you would struggle with it," she began, "and I think the reason why is pretty obvious." All of his comrades nodded their agreement. "But the thing is, Sakura isn't a little girl anymore, and she's damn smart, too. She isn't just going to walk into a bar and ditch her panties. She cares about you, and if anyone has to do it, it should be someone who cares for her, as well." Warmth lit up her eyes as Kakashi rubbed the back of his head, trying to make himself realise that he was being told that this was ok. He felt like Shizune was scrubbing all the dirty old man thoughts he had been having away... then concentrated on her face instead of the image that had just popped into his head of medics in little uniforms and sponge baths.

"You care for her, right?" she asked.

"Of course." What kind of question was that? He had spent the last eight years protecting her with his life.

Shizune shrugged. "It's not love in the sense Sakura probably expects, but I'm sure with your help she'll come to realise it's better than losing it to someone she thinks she loves now but breaks her heart eventually rather than someone she knows is going to care about her for the rest of her life."

Kerunai smiled. "So true," she murmured. "There are no regrets when your first time is a close friend." She turned appreciative eyes on the man in front of her, almost as if she were proud about what he was doing. That couldn't be right.

"Wait a minute," Iruka cut in, "not only are you ladies saying you're ok with it, but you actually think it would be better for her than it being someone she's in love with?"

"Of course," Shizune shrugged, "Sakura would know Kakashi genuinely cares about her, so there is no worrying about whether he just wants to get in her pants and leave her the next morning."

"Right," Kurenai added, "and there will be no regret on her part, I'm sure. As long as she doesn't get carried away..."

"Why?" Genma seemed genuinely intrigued by a woman's insight into the female mind.

Kurenai smiled demurely into her drink. "I'm not speaking from experience, of course, but I'm sure Kakashi-san would be a caring and attentive lover for someone he cares about."

Genma smirked at his friend before Shizune added, "Plus, older guys are more experienced. Sakura would be lucky to have such a mind-blowing first time."

"Oh, yeah," Kerunai agreed, grinning.

Kakashi turned a smug eye to Genma, who was looking at the kunoichi like they had stolen his whisky bottle.

"Don't encourage the old bastard," Genma said, pointing to Kakashi's silver locks to emphasise the 'old.'

"I'm mind-blowing."

Genma groaned dramatically before taking a swig from his nearly empty glass. Gai, who had remained silent through the kunoichi's conversation, turned to his rival with seriousness etched on his features. "The points my beautiful comrades make indeed seem well-founded, however, I believe you need to tread carefully. This is a young, pure woman and you must be sure she doesn't confuse your actions to mean love."

Kakashi stared at him. It wasn't an unusual occurrence; he had stared at him plenty throughout the night. At least Kakashi had made some effort, donning a light grey, button-up shirt and removing the material from around his black slacks, but he was pretty sure all Gai owned were those stupid green jumpsuits. This time, however, it was more to do with his words.

"Well, shit." Kakashi deadpanned.

"Ouch," Genma added, albeit a little cheerily.

"True, she is a virgin." Shizune cut in, before Kakashi could execute the threat his glaring eye promised towards Genma. "She isn't, however, an idiot."

Kakashi turned back to Shizune. He had never been so thankful to have her around as he did tonight. The woman's insight into Sakura's personal feelings was an absolute godsend. As was her agreeable attitude. Of everyone at that table she was the one he thought he was going to be fending off and avoiding accepting drinks from on the off chance she slipped poison in them for the rest of the night. He looked at her expectantly, almost begging for her advice.

She chuckled to herself, clearly thrilled that Hatake Kakashi had to ask her for help. "Trust me," she said, twirling a redundantly small umbrella around her drink. Honestly, Kakashi wondered what kind of purpose those pathetic little things had. Surely they wouldn't be protecting someone from rain any time soon... He forced himself to pay attention to Shizune again. His mind was going to get the better of him one of these days.

"Even if you were successful, I don't think Sakura would run away with herself after the whole Sasuke debacle. I think it hardened her a little. She isn't going to fall head over heels for you and even if she did, she wouldn't force her feelings upon you."

"If he's successful?" Genma asked, almost indignant for his friend.

Shizune snorted. "I'm sure you're good, Hatake, but I've seen what Sakura does to men who try to get fresh with her."

"I bet you two hundred ryo he beds pinky."

Shizune snorted. "I'm not Tsunade, at least make it interesting."

Kakashi stared in disbelief between the two.

"Let's pool," Iruka suggested. "Two hundred each, I reckon Sakura will refuse." The man at the centre of the bet fixed the academy teacher with his most intimidating glare. Iruka gave a nervous laugh and shrugged apologetically.

"I'll take it," Kurenai chimed in. "I think he'll win. Older man, hidden behind a mask, all mystery and potential experience..." she grinned at him, "she'll be putty in your well-trained hands." Kakashi shook his head but grinned despite himself. He kind of liked the sound of that.

"I believe she will not succumb, being madly in love with my student!" Kakashi rolled his eyes at Gai. Lee was deluded if he thought he had a chance with Haruno Sakura.

"You already know my standing," Shizune shrugged.

"Alright! Two hundred each." He put his senbon back in his mouth and leaned across the table, a wicked smile curving his mouth. "And just to keep it interesting, if I win, you come out to dinner with me." Kakashi chuckled at the shocked look that crossed Shizune's face before she steadied her gaze and replied offhandedly, "fine."

Kakashi leaned back against his chair mulling things over. They seemed to think it was ok, in general. Gai was Gai, so he ignored that for the most. He had no qualms with admitting that, if this got out, then he might get some more reactions along the same vein, but he could deal with them. The only opinions he cared about were the people sitting at that table. Well, his students as well, but hopefully Sakura would be swayed and Naruto... he winced. Naruto might be an issue. Hopefully how to deal with the blonde hurricane would become evident at the required time, but for now... he smiled around the table, grateful for their understanding.

He was definitely feeling better about himself. He wasn't one hundred percent happy with the situation, of course, but he felt he might better handle it now. She was attractive, and he may as well try and have some fun with it. Sakura might get angry if she were to find out her virginity was just a mission precluding to a bigger picture, but besides her temper leading to the contrary, he knew she could be rational after she had calmed down. Besides, Shizune was right, she was a smart girl. He looked up and smiled at Shizune, who seemed to be reading his mind.

"She can handle it," the woman said smiling. "Sakura is one of the brightest, most intelligent-"

**BANG!**

Kakashi and Genma both jumped and looked around at the entrance door that had just swung open. A large and very loud group of shinobi had just entered, and at their front, two girls were hanging off each other laughing hysterically. The blonde one managed to control herself for a second, straightening herself up before pushing her pink-haired friend in front of her and proclaiming to the entire bar; "Who wants to sex up this pink pussycat!"

Turning at the audible slap behind him, Kakashi laughed at Shizune, who had slapped her hand to her forehead and was now holding it there.

Genma grinned at her before turning gleaming eyes to Kakashi. "Now might be a good time to lay some ground work." He winked.

Kakashi turned uncertainly towards the group again, noting Naruto was among them, along with students of both Gai and Kurenai. He couldn't imagine what was going through Iruka's head, given he had taught all of them at some point. He glanced over at the man who was quietly shaking his head. "Where did we go wrong, huh?" Kakashi asked with a smile. Two of the other three teachers nodded in agreement. Gai, however, got up, exclaiming with joy that he would share a drink with his beloved student.

"How do you reckon I should start this?" Kakashi asked, rubbing his chin through his mask. If it was any other woman in the world, he would have known exactly how to play his cards. He supposed he should do what was natural and thank whatever god's had provided him with this opportunity, even if he was still a little reluctant to start.

"I'd start by saving her," Shizune growled. Kakashi eyed her cautiously. Did she mean from herself? He looked at Kurenai bewildered, who smiled and pointed. Following her indication, Kakashi noticed several men had begun making their way over to the two girls who were now using the bar as support. They had a predatory look Kakashi knew only too well, and his eyes narrowed slightly. Even if he hadn't been given this mission or just been granted the ok by his friends, nobody looked at his ex-student like that.

Genma caught his eye and chuckled. "Oh, tonight is going to be fuuuuunn."

Kakashi grunted in response and got to his feet.


	3. Chapter 3 Teacher knows Best

**Chapter 3: Teacher knows best**

Sakura had realised the second she stood up that she was drunk. She supposed she had become suspicious around the time she lamented mournfully over spilling her glass for the second time. She cursed the wine vehemently as she held onto Ino's arm for dear life. It had taken them half an hour to traverse the rugged terrain of the Konoha streets. She glared at the ground below her, beginning to suspect it of sprouting rocks deliberately in her path.

She could at least say she was doing better than some of the other members of their group. Hinata was giggling and blushing furiously as a very boisterous Naruto seemed to be taking particular care to pull her out of the way of enemy ninja. The enemy in particular fixed him with slitted pupils before running off up the ally with a hiss and a flick of its tail. Tenten and Lee had been singing loudly for the last five minutes with a very uncomfortable Neji between them. Shikamaru was a little behind the group making sure an ashen faced Kiba (who had thrown up after they left the restaurant claiming he could drink more if he got it out of the way) wasn't about to lie down in the street and fall asleep.

Sakura sighed happily, tightening her grip to steady Ino as the girls foot twisted in her ridiculous heels for the fifth time tonight. She loved these nights. No matter how busy or stressful her life usually was, these were the moments she lived for. The first time they had all gone out together was after Sasuke's funeral. None of them had really wanted to, but it had been Naruto who had insisted they go and have dinner and a few drinks to mourn their fallen comrade. Nobody could refuse him, and they had all woken up in the pre-dawn cold strewn haphazardly around the memorial stone. She had woken up to the surprised face of their sensei, who then proceeded to unmercifully wake the others with a paper bomb.

Sakura giggled softly at the memory. Kakashi could be a cruel man.

"Oi, Forehead!" Sakura's head snapped up with a snarl. Antagonising the pink haired kunoichi was stupid enough when she was sober, but doing it with this much alcohol raging through her system was just suicidal. "What, Pig?" She snapped.

"Tonight, we are going to get you laid." Sakura just blinked at her friend. "Seriously," Ino continued, "I'm sick of you being a virgin."

"Sakura-chan!" Kiba piped up, his queasy stomach obviously not distracting him enough to be able to eavesdrop, "if you ever feel yourself needing a real man to-"

"Finish that sentence Inuzuka and you'll be vomiting more than your stomach contents," she snarled furiously. She turned angry green eyes on her friend. "And just why does my being a virgin affect _you?_" She demanded.

"Because," Ino drawled, flicking a piece of hair out of her eyes, "I need someone to talk sex with. Tenten is way too weird and even the first Hokage knows Hinata has never even _seen_ a guys d-"

"INO!"

Sakura glanced over her shoulder to see whether Hinata had been listening. Thankfully she was too busy laughing at the blonde idiot next to her to overhear. Giving a thankful sigh, Sakura turned back to Ino.

"Look, it's not like I haven't done stuff. It'll happen when it happens," she said with a shrug.

Ino groaned audibly. "No it won't, forehead! You need to take initiative. I'm seriously starting to think all of that anger you've got would dissipate with one good fuck."

Sakura's mouth fell open and she stared blankly at her smirking friend. "Think about it," Ino said, smiling slyly, "you're a medic. You know how relaxed it'll make you. If anything I reckon you need it just to bring your blood pressure down."

Sakura couldn't find the adequate words needed to shoot her friend down, which was apparent by the smug face Ino now fixed her with. Her smile widened, obviously noticing the cogs turning behind Sakura's wide eyes. It was true that as a general rule, Sakura was constantly frustrated. When she was younger she thought it was just the nature of her personality, and there was no doubt she had always been stubborn and with a quick temper to boot, but now that she was older... It was true, few things could relax the body and mind the way sex was proven too, so through a medicinal point she supposed her best friend was right. She still didn't think she could waste her first time with just anyone, but she was twenty now and it was becoming a bit ridiculous, especially in her occupation... She bit her lip, wondering if this was one of those rare occasions that Ino was right.

Ino seemed to take her silence as acceptance. "Oh, yes," she gushed, blue eyes bright, "tonight is the night, Sakura!"

"I don't know..." she tugged at a strand of pink hair uncertainly.

Ino slammed open the door in front of her. Sakura blinked surprised. She hadn't realised they had arrived and she and Ino laughed at the shocked looks on the faces of the people already settled around the tables, drinks in hand.

"Who wants to sex up this pink pussycat!"

Sakura flushed red at her friend's proclamation. She tried to slink back out the door but the blonde was already pulling her to the bar, and the exit was blocked by the rest of her friends cramming in around them. "Ino!" she hissed, but her friend just smiled cheekily at her and she couldn't help grinning back. Finally reaching the bar, they clutched onto it like it was the last solid thing in the world and waited for the bartender to notice them, which didn't take long. He sidled over, a sly grin on his face, making no effort to hide the way his eyes slid over the women approvingly. His smile faltered and his eyes widened slightly at something just above Sakura's head.

"Bottle of sake and a few cups please." The man nodded and turned to get the order. Sakura turned around to give whoever had intruded on the placement of her order a piece of her mind, but then broke out into a smile.

"Kakashi-sensei!" she practically screamed. "It's good to see you!" She eyed his hair and started giggling. He raised an eyebrow at her. "I nearly wore a dress the same colour as your hair tonight!" She noticed the slight creases at the corner of his eye that indicated a smile. She realised she loved it when he did that, and was proud to be the cause of it.

"Who are you here with?" she asked. He indicated over his shoulder and she saw Iruka, Genma, Shizune and Kurenai sitting at a table. She waved enthusiastically at Shizune, happy to see she was out having a good time. The medic waved back, apparently happy to see her too.

"Do you think you or the others would mind much if I went over and said hi to Shizune-san properly?" The Copy Ninja shook his head, picking up the cups. "Not at all, Sakura. Grab the bottle, would you?"

She turned back to a grinning Ino. "I'll be back."

"Oh don't worry," the blonde said happily, "we'll pull a table up close by and offer him drinks whenever we get you one. That mask is so coming off tonight!" That wicked gleam was back and Sakura couldn't help but laugh as she picked the bottle up off the counter and pushed her way over to the table where the older jounin and Iruka sat.

"Hi, Sakura-chan!" Shizune gave her a hug and indicated to a spare seat Genma had just whipped over from a nearby table. She sat on it somewhat ungracefully, plonking the bottle down on the table and grinning around at them all. It was like being accepted into the cool crowd at school and she was going to enjoy it.

"Bit drunk?" Genma asked, his arm sliding over the back of her chair. She nodded happily as Kakashi poured sake into cups and passed them around. She picked up the one in front of her and took a little sip. "How's everyone's night going?" she asked, attempting to appear less of a mess than she felt. They all smiled at her and told her they were having a good time, and they chatted lightly about what the younger shinobi had been up to. She gushed happily for 5 minutes about the amazing cherry wine they had all drank, and Genma laughed appreciatively.

"You're looking very nice tonight, Sakura." She smiled up at the man, noticing for the first time that his brown hair wasn't being held in place by the bandana styled hatai-ate. "Thank you, Genma-san," she replied. He smiled at her, before glancing over her head. His grin widened but he removed the arm from around her chair, and as she turned she saw Kakashi's eye, which were narrowed at his friend, flash back to his casual happy I'm-so-nice crease. He held the bottle up questioningly and she nodded, just as someone tapped her shoulder. Turning around, she caught Kiba's grin as he settled a tray of strange, orange coloured shots on the table. "Consider this a thanks from all us rookies for the skills you taught us over the years." The older shinobi glanced at the tray, then back at the younger man whose pointed canines were bared in a fierce grin.

"Kiba, this isn't necessary," Kurenai, said, a smile on her face.

"Of course, it is! Especially for you, sensei." He bowed at the woman, who blinked in confusion at the strange show of respect. Kiba squeezed Sakura's shoulder. "We're right behind you whenever you want to join us." She smiled behind her at all her friends lounging on the table next to them in various degrees of intoxication. She turned back with a giggle and picked up one of the shots. The other jounin followed suit.

"To success in all our future endeavours! Especially missions that involve very attractive-" Genma gasped suddenly and turned wide eyes on a glaring Shizune. Sakura didn't bother asking what was going on, and took the shot. She coughed and spluttered as the liquid scorched its way down her throat. "Man, what was that?"

The others didn't so much as wince at the alcohol, and she had the slight feeling she may be out of her depth with these veteran shinobi.

"Gai sensei! **WHAT** is he lookin' at?" Sakura turned with the rest of the table, horror-struck. The next few seconds went in slow motion as Lee grabbed a chair and hurled it at a terrified chunin. The poor man just managed to duck out of sight while Gai and Neji tackled Lee to the floor. Neji rolled his eyes at a laughing Tenten and bundled his raucous teammate out of the door. Sakura turned to see Shizune shaking her head in amazement and giggled.

The next hour became increasingly hazy as her friends kept bringing over varying potent alcohols. She didn't think she was the only one at the table suffering. Shizune and Kurenai were looking glassy-eyed and Genma seemed to be getting louder and more inappropriate as the night went on. To her dismay, Kakashi next to her seemed completely unaffected. He laughed along with everyone else, but there was nothing in his stance or mannerisms that suggested he was feeling the alcohol. She glanced behind her and caught Ino's eyes. Her friend frowned and shrugged. It seemed she wasn't too sure how to proceed with their self-appointed mission either.

Sakura sighed and turned back to the table. "Something wrong?" Sakura turned at the sound of Kakashi's smooth voice and smiled up at him. "Not at all, sensei." She was vaguely aware of a snickering Genma behind her but chose to ignore it. She eyed the sake bottle like it was her worst enemy. She could already feel the pounding at the back of her head that promised tomorrow would be hell, but a big part of her decided she deserved a great night out. She reached out for it and brought it shakily to her cup. Kakashi's warm hand closed over hers and she froze. She looked up at him, confused, but he just smiled at her and helped pour the liquid. She supposed her hands were probably quite shaky and she thanked him, but her mind was hyper focused on the fingers closed around hers. His hand was large and covered hers completely. She was surprised at how deceptively smooth it felt. Most ninja had quite calloused hands from years of use, but aside from one small, shiny scar, there was nothing. He guided the bottle to the table, and pulled his hand away, fingers stroking lightly over her knuckles. She became aware her mouth was open and shut it quickly, smiling her thanks and grabbing the cup. She spilled a little as she brought it to her lips, taking a sip and wondering if there was any way in the entire world that that simple touch had been deliberate. But more importantly, _why_ the simple stroke had sent a jolt through her body...

It was, of course, more than possible her clouded mind was creating something more out of her old teacher's friendly help. More than likely that was it, mingling with her apparent sexual frustration, as Ino had so eloquently put it. She giggled, more to herself than anyone else, and smiled happily around the table. "Sakura, it's probably time you headed home. Don't you have to be at the tower at seven?" Shizune was smiling at her, but the look in her eyes made it quite clear that her life was going to be hell come morning.

Sakura pouted at the woman who had become like a sister to her. "I don't want to, I'm having fun!" Genma and Kurenai chuckled appreciatively and Kakashi ruffled her hair. She glared at him reproachfully and tried to pat it back down. "Now, now, Sakura, I don't think your patients would appreciate you treating them drunk."

"S'pose.." Sakura slurred. "Alright, see ya in mornin' zuny-chan!" She said goodbye to the others, smiling at Kakashi, and stumbled over to Ino. "Pig! It's time to go home." Ino laughed at the state of her friend and shook her head. "I'm staying." Sakura really didn't have the energy to argue, so she said farewell, waving off Naruto and his offer to walk her home, and stepped out into the warm night.

She took a deep breath and her whole world span. Her hands shot out, trying to grab anything to steady herself with, and came into contact with something beside her. She felt her hands close around something soft, and was half aware that there were arms bracing her. She blinked stupidly at her hands gripping a light grey shirt and looked up slowly.

"You alright, Sakura?"

She nodded, aware the dark grey eye she could see was crinkled at her in amusement, but somehow she was unable to be indignant. "Hey, sensei," she breathed. She tried to direct some chakra towards her stomach, desperate to get rid of the building nausea. She was _not _throwing up in front of Kakashi. She was pretty sure her head would explode with embarrassment.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and slowly encouraged her to walk. "Come on," he laughed, "let's get you home." She sighed heavily and leaned into him, head resting just under his arm. She shivered slightly, not realising how cold she was until surrounded by his warmth. "You're so nice, Kakashi," she mumbled. She didn't think it was possible to fall asleep whilst walking, but she could feel her eyelids becoming too heavy to hold open.

"How far from home are we?" She asked, yawning widely.

* * *

Kakashi didn't know whether to be ashamed or proud of his ex-student. She began mumbling inaudibly and he couldn't help but be amused. He had to admit, she had drank a lot more than he thought she would be able to handle, but had started to wonder by the time Tenten had come over with drinks for their entire table that maybe her friends were trying to get her drunk. He could imagine Sakura would be hilarious when drunk and he had to admit she had definitely been chattier than he was used to. Eventually, however, it became aware that she couldn't keep up with the seasoned drinkers whose table she had shared and Shizune had suggested she go home. Genma had given Kakashi a very pointed look and he realised now was as good a time as any to start laying down foundations. Although personally, he wasn't sure if he was in the right state to do much. Over the years he had perfected the outward appearance of sobriety, but in all honesty he was feeling a little lightheaded.

He sighed heavily. Getting the approval of the other ninja still hadn't completely left him without doubt. The fact of the matter was, Sakura didn't deserve to have this taken away from her by someone as old and jaded as him, but the alternative on her future mission was admittedly much worse. Besides, judging by her grand entrance, it may have been dawning on her it was time; or at least, on her drunken conscious. He chuckled softly as she gave a hiccough and shifted his arm to support her better.

"Kakashi?"

"Mm?"

"What's under the mask?" He blinked down at her pink head. She tilted her face up at him and fixed bleary, glassy eyes on his suspicious one.

"We had a mission tonight, yunno." He tensed, wondering if Tsunade had done more than told her to keep an eye on him. "Oh?"

"Mmm," was her only reply. They trudged on in silence for a few minutes, Sakura's state making their pace a lot slower than normal. "Ino and I convinced the others to help us get you drunk enough to see your face." She giggled and Kakashi regarded her like he might a misbehaving child.

"Sakura," he chided lightly, "you should have learnt years ago to let that one go."

"But we wanted to see!" She almost whined and he couldn't help but laugh.

"If you pursue this you may find yourself in over your bubblegum head," he grinned at her. She glared up at him. "Excuse me?" He suppressed his laugh at her icy tone and shrugged slightly. "Just saying, you've been warned."

"Are you threatening me?" He shook his head.

"Nope."

"I want to see," she demanded.

"Maybe one day."

She looked up at him with round eyes, but he could tell she has struggling to remain focused.

"One day," she sighed wistfully.

Kakashi shook his head. The fascination his students had with his mask had been cute when they were little, but the older they got, the more annoying their attempts had become. Finally deciding to put an end to it, he had hung Naruto up for everyone to see and left him there, chakra sealed, for three hours. He thought that would have provided enough of a warning but apparently not. Given his current situation, however, he could only think of one way she could get him to remove it, and that was probably a dangerous thought. Still, if their only plan had been getting him drunk, he couldn't be too annoyed, especially looking down at the wreck drinking so much had left the petite kunoichi tucked into his side. He chuckled again.

She suddenly stopped moving and he looked back to see her eyes widen as her face went pale.

"Sakura?"

"Oh no.." she stumbled into an alley and Kakashi, who had been about to follow, hung back as retching sounds met his ears. He hated going anywhere near vomiting people, mostly because his heightened sense of smell made it much more nightmarish for him than others.

A couple walking by looked between him and the alley, and the woman gave him a disapproving look. He shrugged it off and waited patiently for Sakura to be done. He had knelt with her while battle raged around them, his hands covered in her blood; he could be excused stepping aside while she threw up all the alcohol she had consumed that night.

Eventually she came stumbling out, hand pressed to her forehead, visibly shaking. He sighed heavily and crouched down in front of her. "Jump on." She looked at him for a moment, as if considering it a trap, before blinking slowly. She wiped her hand across her pale face and nodded. She climbed onto his back, wrapping her arms lightly around his shoulders and resting her forehead on the back of his neck. He gripped her thighs lightly, noting the firm muscles under her smooth skin. He shook himself mentally, telling himself now was definitely not the time, and leapt off towards her house.

Kakashi slipped in through Sakura's open window and gently pried her arms away from his neck, letting her slip from him onto the bed. She flopped backwards, arms above her head, with a loud groan. Kakashi left her there and made his way through the small apartment to the kitchen. He glanced around at the simple lay out, noticing a pile of medical research files on her small coffee table and smiling at the massively fluffy pink slippers next to it. His nose picked up traces of Naruto and Sai, but that was to be expected. A small vase of sunflowers sat on the counter, with a little note attached. Glancing back to the bedroom to make sure she hadn't followed him, he flicked open the note, wandering if perhaps she already had a boyfriend.

_Forehead,_

_Thanks for helping out at the shop the other day after Shikamaru bailed (ass), you totally saved me! Looking forward to tomorrow night. Who knows, maybe we'll find you a man! _

_Ino_

He grinned, placing the note back and filling up a glass of water. Maybe this mission wouldn't be that hard. He had been wondering how he was going to seduce her in the first place. It wasn't that he had any doubt in his ability, his track record his was more than enough to prove him capable, but he knew she would be wary of the age difference and she was definitely quick to anger. If she was looking, however, maybe he could be just what she needed? He sat on the edge of the bed and nudged the snoring kunoichi in the hip. She awoke with a snort and blinked around the room.

"You're a terrible ninja," he admonished with a smile. He offered her the glass and after struggling into a sitting position she folded her arms. "I want more wine." He shook his head and held the glass in front of her face. She sighed and accepted it, gulping the liquid down like she hadn't drank in days. He chuckled softly, and her eyes widened as she glanced around.

"You're in my room." She stated.

"Correct."

She continued to look at him like it was the most ludicrous thing she had ever heard of. He couldn't help grinning at her. It was obvious by the look in her eyes she was uncomfortable with him being there, but for some reason he found it amusing. Considering she could punch him through the three storeys of her building it probably had something to do with his masochistic streak. He lay back on the bed, hands under his head, and smiled up at her.

"How are you feeling?" A blush crept up her cheeks and she averted her eyes from him. His grin widened.

"Like crap," she muttered. He hummed understandingly and said no more. Finally her eyes snapped back to him and narrowed almost accusingly. "Why aren't you drunk?" she demanded.

He shrugged as best he could in his current position. "Age, experience..."

Her eyes narrowed at him suspiciously.

"What?"

"Nothing," she mumbled, "just seems a lot comes down to those traits lately."

He blinked at her. Guessing it was probably a completely unrelated issue, and stamping the images of a pink haired woman in a silk yukata saying, _"teach me, sensei," _from his head, he stretched out then sat up with a huff. "Suppose I should be off. Want me to refill that for you before I go?"

She nodded, holding the glass out to him. He took it from her, making sure his fingers slid across hers as he did so. He tried not to laugh as her eyes focused on his hand before snapping up to his face questioningly. He gave her what he hoped was his best I'm-innocent eye crinkling smile before making his way back to the kitchen.

After setting the full glass on the small table next to her bed, he helped her shuffle under the covers and patted her head lightly. She groaned and pushed his hand away. Chuckling, he turned to the window. "You're going to be in a lot of pain tomorrow, Sakura-chan. Don't drink coffee in the morning, have some orange juice."

She gave a muffled response and her breathing became deeper almost immediately. He watched her for a few seconds, before climbing out of the window and jumping onto the roof. There was a pleasant breeze blowing through Konoha and the moon was high and bright. Summer was in full swing and the sounds of thousands of insects could be heard from the forest that surrounded them. He glanced up at the lit Hokage monument, eyes resting on the face of his old sensei, before taking off across the rooves. He was eager for bed, looking forward to a quick, cooling shower beforehand. Tomorrow he would have to start thinking up ways to woo his little student. Never one for all that old romantic crap, he was going to have to think up something fun that wouldn't seem too obvious. He supposed the most they did outside of missions was sparring and dinner with their other two teammates. He guessed if he was to start small, it should be sparring and then dinner with just the two of them? Although, Naruto never passed up an opportunity to eat. Or train for that matter. It wasn't as much as getting time alone with Sakura than getting the blonde knucklehead out of their hair. He made a sharp right and headed off towards the home of Tenzou, hoping his kohai wouldn't give him splinters for interrupting his sleep again

* * *

Sakura hissed violently at the onslaught of sunlight through her window. Kakashi had apparently neglected to close the curtains for her. She groaned loudly, hoping memories of last night would have been erased, or at least blurred in her mind, but no. Everything was replaying in her head in annoyingly crystal clarity. She could not _believe _she had allowed herself to get in such a state, and to make matters worse, her sensei had seen her throw up. _Mind you, _she thought, _he wasn't exactly quick to help. _She sighed and forced herself to sit up. Still, he had helped her home, which was pretty nice of him. She threw the blankets off and stumbled out of her bedroom in desperate need of a shower. She could still smell alcohol and faint traces of vomit about her and dragged a hand through her hair with a sigh.

She stepped under the hot water and began her usual routine. She guessed she was already late reporting to the Hokage tower, but for once she didn't care, deciding to take her time relishing in the heat of the water and the feel of soapy bubbles sliding down her skin. What a night. She wondered what had become of the others. No doubt Ino would fill her in on everything she had missed later. As she flipped the switch to boil water for her usual morning coffee she vaguely remembered Kakashi mentioning juice. She eyed the container in her fridge. Surely coffee cured all ills? Thinking he probably had more hangovers in his life than she had, she grabbed a glass from the cupboard and flipped the boiler off.

By the time she reached the tower, Sakura was feeling a little better. Three glasses of juice had definitely helped and she strolled into the Hokage's office with a smile on her face. She rolled her eyes at the site of the leader of their village slouched over her desk moaning expletives at a disgruntled Shizune. "Oh Sakura, thank the First, can you run these over to the hospital for me?" Sakura accepted the scrolls and left Shizune to wake up their shishou, definitely not envious of the kunoichi's task.

While she was there, Sakura leant a hand to the busy medics, fixing up some of the minor injuries and sorting through some admin material. She enjoyed the company at the hospital and they were always appreciative of her help. She still remembered her first week there, feeling so useless and overwhelmed, but over the last 7 years she had made a reputation for herself and being in that place of healing made her feel that her life was worth something. It had been a great boost to her self-esteem and she had made many friends there.

Around lunch Sakura strolled into the same cafe she always went to, being a big fan of their daifuku. She sat at the usual table outside and two minutes later she smiled up at the server as he placed a plate of ichigo daifuku in front of her.

"Good afternoon, Shumei. Thanks!"

He smiled back at her and strolled over to another table to take an order. Sakura pulled apart the sweet mochi treat, eating the strawberry with a happy sigh.

"Hey, forehead." She grunted her greeting as Ino sat opposite her. "Man, I was such a mess this morning..." Sakura nodded, indicating she knew the feeling, and offered her friend a daifuku. Ino passed, explaining her inability to face food yet, and proceeded to fill Sakura in on last night's events.

"Oh, and you won't believe what Hinata did! It was amazing! She actually got on the table and danced. Like, on the table!" Sakura choked slightly from laughing.

"You're kidding?"

"Nope! We seriously need to get her drunk more often."

"I dunno," Sakura shuddered slightly, "that wine may taste amazing but damn..."

"Yeah, I know what you mean, I haven't felt this wrecked in years."

"I thought you young things would bounce right back." Sakura jumped slightly at her old sensei's sudden appearance.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

He slumped into an empty chair beside her, smiling at her from the look in his eye. "Thought I'd see how you were." She slapped his hand away from her daifuku and huffed.

"Oh, come on, after last night surely you won't deny me a sweet treat." Glaring at the amused lilt to his voice, she waved her permission and he took one of the sweet rice balls.

"Umm.." Sakura caught the look on Ino's face and sighed. "He made sure I got home."

"Oh?" Sakura ignored the question in her friend's voice and watched as Kakashi broke the ball apart to get to the strawberry filling.

"So apparently your retarded way of eating comes from your sensei." Kakashi looked up at the blonde confused, before glancing at Sakura's massacred daifuku.

"Strawberries are tasty," he said with a shrug. Sakura pretended to be interested in what Ino was saying about eating like children whilst watching Kakashi closely out of the corner of her eye. He was being surreptitious about the whole process but she was determined this would be it, nothing would distract her from-

"Hey, Sakura-chan!" Her eyes flicked briefly to a grinning Naruto that had just appeared beside her. Realising instantly what had just happened, she turned so quickly towards Kakashi she was surprised her neck didn't snap. He looked up at her innocently and she glared accusingly at the empty shell of rice. "How the hell do you _do_ that?"

"Do what, Sakura-chan?"

She gave him her most icy stare and deliberately put her back to him and his light chuckle.

"So, I hear Hinata was quite interesting last night," she said.

Naruto scratched his head with a grin. "I thought it was pretty funny."

"Hey Naruto, Yamato is looking for you."

"Huh?" Naruto fixed his sensei with a dumb look that was pure him, before breaking out into a determined grin. "Yes! Time to train!" Without bothering to say goodbye, he vanished. Sakura shook her head and broke apart another daifuku.

"Maybe you should think of some training too," Sakura paused with the strawberry half way to her mouth to regard the silver-haired jounin's pointed stare. "Excuse me?" she asked, voice low.

He creased his eye at her and held his hands up. "Well Naruto and Sai are off doing stuff, maybe you and I should do some training?" She popped her food into her mouth and shrugged. "Fair enough. I have to go back to the tower for a bit but I can be done by three. Usual grounds?"

He smiled up at her and nodded before vanishing in a puff of smoke. "Yunno," Ino mused, "I really do want to know what he's hiding under that mask... He isn't _that _much older, and I do have these things on my side." She indicated to her two biggest advantages and Sakura stood up.

"Ino, seriously, anyone but my sensei."

"He isn't your sensei anymore," the blonde teased. Sakura rolled her eyes and headed off to what she was hoping was a happier Tsunade.

* * *

"Hatake." Genma slapped his younger friend on the shoulder as he jogged up. He had been looking for the man all day but as usual, Kakashi had been so far undetectable. The man barely registered Genma's appearance, grunting his hello and continuing to read Icha Icha.

"So, what's the plan?"

Kakashi shrugged, "with what?"

"Your mission, come on man, I have some free time and I'm bored."

Kakashi sighed and pointedly continued reading. Genma stuck his hands in his pockets and continued to walk beside him in silence. He knew the secret to getting Hatake to talk. Kakashi usually just ignored people until they went away, but Genma knew more than talking, he couldn't stand people hovering around him. It took ten minutes before Kakashi snapped his book shut with an exaggerated sigh and glared at his grinning comrade.

"Do you have a particular suggestion you wish to share?"

"Medics."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at him. "Thing is, I noticed Shizune will fight back all advances I make at conversation except one. Get her talking about the stuff she does at the hospital and she'll drop her guard."

"You managed to sleep with Shizune?" Genma chuckled before noting the genuine surprise on Kakashi's face. "Hey, I am good."

"No, then."

Genma snorted, a difficult feat with a senbon aimed at the back of your throat. It was true though. He had fully intended to take the feisty medic home that night but a combination of being too drunk to even walk and being intrigued by her ability to switch back and to between teasing slights and extreme annoyance had stopped his advances. Instead he had spent most of the night just chatting until she and Kurenai had gone home.

"We're both dealing with women who have the ability to either slip us poison or beat the crap out of us. On top of that, they are both so close to the Hokage that we would be killed if we don't play our cards right. I know this is a mission, but I bet if she thinks you're going about it in the wrong way I have no doubt the crazy bat would pummel you."

Kakashi grunted his agreement.

"So, we're in this together!" Genma gave his friend his brightest smile. Kakashi just fixed him with an uninterested eye and opened his book again.

"Alright fine, but you'll want my help eventually." Genma made the hand seals and flickered onto a nearby roof before sitting down with a huff. He was going to have to come up with something to sway Shizune. Somehow he didn't think flowers were going to cut it. He eyed the Yamanaka flower shop. It was a place to start, if nothing else.


	4. Chapter 4 Floral Misunderstandings

**Chapter 4: Floral misunderstandings**

Sakura shut the door and leant against it with a heavy sigh. She loved her shishou, but the woman could be merciless and had run her off her feet. She honestly could not face the prospect of training right then but she had told Kakashi she would and as bad as she felt she knew she would feel worse if she didn't go. She sighed heavily and slowly made her way to training ground three. Unsurprisingly, he wasn't there yet. She sat down with a huff, eyeing the three wood posts to her left. That first bell test felt like forever ago. She smiled, remembering how obnoxious she had thought Naruto was. She still did, but if someone had told her back then he would become one of the dearest people in her life she would have probably punched them. She thought about Sasuke and how he had been before he left. Moody, yes, but always there for his comrades. She shook her head slightly. It wouldn't do to dwell on those thoughts, so she lay back and adopted one of Shikamaru's favourite pastimes and watched the clouds overhead.

She wasn't sure how long she had dozed off for, but she woke with a start as a shuriken landed three inches away from her head. She leapt up and into a nearby tree. She knelt down, trying to make herself as small a target as possible, looking around for her assailant. How the hell would an enemy get into the village without an alarm being raised? The wind rustled the leaves around her and she listened intently. She had a brief second to recognise the whistle of an approaching kunai before leaping away and racing through the trees. She leapt behind a tree forming the hand signs for a clone, and sent it off in the opposite direction, hoping it would prove a good enough distraction.

She ran towards the small river and leaped back into the trees, choosing a particularly leafy one to hide in. She crouched on the branch and focused on her surroundings. The area was quiet. She could hear birds in the distance and the wind had picked up a bit. Glancing at the sky, she noticed the sun was sinking closer to the horizon and a blanket of grey clouds was approaching from the south. The last thing she needed was to be caught out in a storm. A particularly violent gust of wind tore through the tree she was in and several things happened at once. Her eyes widened as she saw the shuriken flying towards her, and a stray strand of pink hair got whipped across her eyes. She cursed and did the only thing she could think of; threw herself backwards off the tree.

She felt the air shift above her as the shuriken went flying past and attempted to twist her feet under her before she hit the ground. Unfortunately, she misjudged the distance; as well as the ground. She gasped as the cool water enveloped her and spluttered as it flooded her airway. Not knowing where the next assault would come from, but certain the attacker would take advantage of her exposed position, she did the only thing she could think of and slammed her fist into the river bed.

Water exploded upwards and the ground around the bank collapsed with a roar. She stood up preparing for an attack, but froze in astonishment. She didn't know whether to scream in frustration or laugh. There, buried up to his chest in rubble and reminiscent of the second bell test, was the legendary Copy Ninja, with the most astonished look she had ever seen in his eye.

"Sakura.."

She put her hands on her hips and scowled. "Are you serious?" she demanded, "I thought I was being attacked!"

"That was the point. Besides, if I really had been trying to kill you do you think that first shuriken would have missed? You were asleep."

Sakura continued to glare at him and realised he was right. No self-respecting ninja would have missed that shot, and she had been expecting him for training. Trying to hide her embarrassment, she stalked over to him, grabbed him by the flak jacket, and yanked him free. He stood there, apparently still dumbfounded, and she smirked while dusting him off. "Thought you'd be used to that by now?"

"I'm used to seeing you doing it to other shinobi..."

She grinned and walked out of the crumpled earth to stand on the grass. "I tell you what," she said, eyeing him mischievously, "we'll just use taijutsu, and I'll refrain from using chakra. Wouldn't want to break you, sensei." He huffed and went over to join her.

"All the chakra infused punches in the world won't help if you can't catch me."

She shrugged nonchalantly, "I like my odds."

He flew at her, and she barely had time to suck in air before leaping away. She brought her elbow up to block his punch and was reminded as she always was while sparring with him that he wasn't considered one of the Leaf's top shinobi without good reason. His speed blew her away every time and always reminded her of the fact her perverted, irritating, withdrawn and sometimes goofy old teacher was in fact, lethal. She threw her own punch, making sure to bring her leg up in anticipation of his kick, but was back on the defence almost instantly. She leapt back, growling as he rushed her again, giving her no time to think. Just when she thought she was beginning to catch up to his level he would remind her exactly why he was so revered. She felt her temper rise and made an uncalculated swing at his head, resulting in a jab to her side she couldn't quite block quick enough. She jumped into a tree for a brief respite, reminding herself to stay calm.

"What's wrong, Sakura-chan?"

She heard the amusement in his voice and clenched her fist. _No. _She told herself firmly. This was how he got her every time. The fact was, she could keep up with him. Only enough to defend, sure, but they both knew he would tire before she did, so this is what he did. He riled her up and forced her to make mistakes as her temper got the better of her. She let out a deep breath and leapt lightly from the tree.

She smiled sweetly and beckoned him forward. His eye creased in a smile and he was on top of her. For ten minutes he reined blows upon her, and to her credit, she blocked every one. Her muscles were starting to burn but she knew her stamina was her advantage here, especially without putting chakra into her blows. This way she conserved energy until she had an opening. She managed to smack one of his fists away and grinned fiercely. He was slowing down. She faked a left blow and with a triumphant cry brought her right fist flying into his stomach.

There was a crash and with a gasp she found herself face down on the grass, blinking stupidly at an insect her forehead had narrowly missed squashing. She turned her head to stare in amazement over her shoulder at the silver-haired, masked jounin sitting on her back. He chuckled at her expression and got off her. She stood up and straightened her shirt, attempting to remain calm.

"You pretended to be slowing down."

"I pretended to be slowing down."

She had a feeling Kakashi was grinning at her behind that mask. She rubbed her temples soothingly and took a few deep breaths.

He held up his hands up in a placating gesture and gave her his best and brightest eye creasing smile. "I brought a snack?"

Her stomach rumbled in anticipation and she laughed apologetically. He beckoned her to follow him and they settled against the posts. She sat in front of the same one she had as a child, Kakashi taking Naruto's spot as if it would be bad karma to sit where Sasuke had. She put the late Uchiha to the back of her mind and accepted a sticky rice ball with a small "thank you."

They sat in silence while they ate, Sakura keeping an eye on the approaching clouds. When he finished Kakashi rubbed his hands together and leant against the post, clearly satisfied. She rolled her eyes, realising that her fretting over the weather had provided him plenty of opportunity to eat without her noticing.

"Damn," she sighed, wondering why she was even considering he would show her his face after all these years. Kakashi looked at her questioningly and she gestured to him with a flippant wave of her hand. She saw the material of his mask shift and knew he was smiling in understanding.

"Why is it so important?" He mused.

She laughed. "Honestly I'm not sure, but your face is like one of the great mysteries of our nation - probably most of the others too."

His eye creased in amusement and she turned to look back at the sky.

"Looks like I'm going to get real wet."

"Sorry?"

She turned back to a wide-eyed Kakashi. He seemed quite taken aback by her comment and she had no idea why.

"The storm."

"Oh." He gave a small chuckle as he eyed the fast approaching clouds.

"I don't get why-" Sakura gave a small gasp and tried to cover her blush by turning away from him. He wasn't seriously _that_ perverted, surely? Then again, given his Icha Icha addiction, she wouldn't put it past him.

"Something wrong, Sakura-chan?"

"No." To her horror her voice sounded thoroughly unconvincing and she winced, hoping he hadn't noticed.

Apparently she wasn't so lucky.

"Ah Sakura, no need to be so mortified. A little humour between friends is fine." She had the feeling if she turned around to face him his eye would be crinkled merrily at her.

"There is humour and then there is being a pervert."

She heard him give a small laugh and she glared at the oncoming storm as if she could evaporate the clouds with sheer willpower.

"You were the one that said it."

"You were the one that took it out of context." She finally turned around to find him lying on the ground, hands behind his head, rather like he had been sprawled out over her bed last night. She felt her cheeks warm slightly. "You're getting too comfortable around me. I wouldn't forget how strong I am if you value your manhood." She growled the last part, hoping to add a little emphasis to the statement.

He cocked an eyebrow up at her and simply said, "My manhood, Sakura-chan?"

She looked away quickly. He had a point, what the hell was she doing saying things like that? Maybe she was the one becoming too comfortable around him? They saw a lot of each other being on the same team and all, but now that she thought about it, she never spent much time just with him. There were a few times where they would run into each other, but she was pretty sure today was the longest amount of time it had been just the two of them. Maybe she had been growing accustomed to him all that time without realising, because there was no doubt in her mind if any other man had said those things she probably would have just hit him by now. Although, Naruto was the guy she was closest to in the world and she would have hit him too. Confused, she shook her head and turned back to him. She had intended to apologise for being inappropriate, but the words caught in her throat as her eyes met his. He was laughing at her. Not out loud, but it showed in that dark eye. She stood, fully intending to punch the ground at his feet. The first rumble of thunder stilled her fist and she glanced at the rapidly darkening sky. She turned back to face him, a smile curving her lips.

"You're right," she said, feigning a sigh, "we probably shouldn't be talking about something so out of use, might get its hopes up; if nothing else."

Kakashi sat up so fast her eyes couldn't follow the movement. His voice was low as he asked, "excuse me?"

She gave a shrug, trying to suppress her burgeoning laughter so as not to ruin her pretend nonchalance. "Well you're no spring chicken. Plenty of younger, fitter boys in the world, wouldn't want to make it jealous."

He folded his arms across his chest and glared at her. "There are a lot of women in this village that would attest otherwise. Age procures experience, after all."

She snorted and waved a hand at him dismissively. "It's all down to stamina."

"I think I proved I have plenty of that earlier. You did lose our little spar, as I recall."

She glared at him then quickly fixed her face into a more indifferent expression. "That's not where it counts."

"And where does it count, Sakura-chan?" The amused lilt was back in his voice. She felt the first drops of rain on her bare arms and smiled at him as sweetly as she could.

"Wouldn't you like me to show you, sensei." She just had time to notice a flicker of emotion pass through his eye, the slight rise to his eyebrow, before forming the hand signs and vanishing in a puff of smoke.

* * *

Kakashi sat in the steadily increasing rain, dumbstruck. It had been a day. One day. How had he tapped into this side of Sakura in one day? How had she kept this side of her from him for so long? More importantly, _why _couldn't he shake the image page seventy-three of Tactics always put in his mind when the girl sits on the protagonists lap in the formal silk yukuta and whispers in her sensei's ear?

"_Let me show you what I have learnt, sensei..."_

Even more worrying, why did she suddenly have pink hair? Kakashi turned his face upwards into the downpour and found his mind clearing. Pink, the colour young girls loved. His former student, despite being a lot more feisty than he thought, was still that little, pink-haired girl he had helped train. Of course, she clearly wasn't thinking like a girl. She didn't particularly look like a girl anymore, either...

"She is _not _a woman," he scolded himself. _You could make her one, _the part of his mind that had Jiraiya's voice whispered.

"Mate, you could make her one." Kakashi's head snapped round and he was on his feet before he was aware of leaving the ground. He relaxed when a laughing Genma jumped out of a nearby tree.

He whistled above the rain and wind, holding his arm up to shield his eyes. "Little pinky seems to be getting to you then." Kakashi wanted nothing more than to punch his old friend in the face.

"She has pink hair," he deadpanned, as if that explained everything.

Genma rubbed the back of his head. "Well, yeah..."

Kakashi shook his wet hair out of his eye. "Why are you here?"

"Was on my way home when I saw you. What the hell are you doing lying in the middle of a field in this?"

Kakashi shrugged in answer before disappearing, leaving smoke and a flurry of leaves behind.

When he had showered and made himself some tea at home, he fell onto his couch and stared accusingly and the blue book in his hand. Somehow he couldn't bring himself to read it. After the third attempt it was obvious to him the woman in the novel was adamantly refusing to change her hair colour back to the soft brown Jiraiya described it as. He sighed, rubbing his head, and glanced at the clock. It was far too early to go to bed, but with the rain and wind lashing against his windows the prospect of going anywhere else was hardly appealing. He glanced towards his still door-less bedroom and decided it was too far. He sank down onto the couch and closed his eyes.

What was he going to do about Sakura? He had absolutely no idea how to approach the situation. Somehow he felt like the occasional cheeky spar wouldn't be enough to convince her that jumping into bed with her much older sensei was a good idea. Actually paying for her at Ichiraku would probably just make her suspicious. Which meant offering to take her out for dinner elsewhere would probably just scare her off completely. Flowers just seemed stupid to him and he wasn't keen on that blonde girl prying into his business if he went and bought some. She was quite a riddle. He had a feeling some of the expected romantic gestures would appeal to the girl in her but he didn't want to do that. If he started doing all those silly things she would both get the wrong idea and think he was after something more or pummel him within an inch of his life. Personally he would prefer the latter.

What he needed was some common ground. Something they could bond over. He had a feeling what Genma had said about engaging her in some medic talk would work, but his knowledge in that field was pretty limited and he had a tendency of letting his mind wander when he wasn't particularly interested in the conversation. Somehow he didn't think that would impress her too much. Plus he really didn't want to be admitting to Genma somewhere down the line that he followed the idiot's advice and got laid because of it. What he really needed to do was talk to the people in Sakura's life that knew the little things about her in the subtlest way possible. He suspected Naruto would be most clued in but the boy would be out of town for at least a week and he couldn't leave it that long before he even began; he was on a short enough timeline as it was. Tsunade would have been a good person to get information from, especially as she knew what he was trying to do, but he honestly didn't want to see the woman in fear of what he might say. Disrespecting the Hokage was not wise at the best of times, and the Godaime was in a league of her own.

Shizune.

He blinked up at the ceiling. She knew about the mission, had been supportive enough, and spent a lot of time with Sakura at the hospital. She'd be able to give him some idea's around Sakura's interests, things to do with her without coming on too strong, and could even give him a quick lesson in the basics of whatever Sakura was researching at the moment. It was brilliant!

He sat up, almost excited to be doing something, then paused as a particularly loud crash of thunder sounded outside.

"Ah, tomorrow."

He glanced again into his bedroom and deciding it still wasn't worth the effort, slumped back onto the couch. He would probably regret it in the morning.

He did.

He stretched, wincing as his spine cracked in a few places and scowling as he tried to massage the ache out of his shoulder. He cursed his laziness under his breath and trudged towards the shower. If he wanted favours from Shizune the least he could do was appear presentable. Yep, that was the only reason he spent an extra thirty seconds trying to fix his hair into some semblance of a style before sighing and leaving it in its usual stuck up, spiked position. It had nothing to do with the fact he may run into a pink haired kunoichi. He rolled his eyes at his reflection. He supposed if he was meant to be seducing he should be putting in some effort. Then again, that wasn't him, and if he was going to go through with it the Hokage would be damned if he was going to go out of his way. More so than what this so called 'mission' required anyway.

He closed the door, stuffed his hands in his pockets and traipsed down the stairs, pausing at the entrance of his building to pick up an umbrella. He ignored the surprised looks and the few smirks he got and shook off the umbrella as he stepped into the hospital. He sidled up to the nurses' station, creasing his eye in what he knew was considered charming and casually leant on the desk.

"Good morning," he smiled.

"H-Hatake-senpai!" The young girl before him gave a squeak of surprise before regaining her professional composure. "How can I help you this morning?" Her gaze flickered over him confused, obviously wondering if he was concealing some injury.

"Is Shizune-san available?"

"Um, she actually just started, should be around the staff room."

"Thanks." He smiled and waved, ignoring the curiosity in her gaze as he made his way to the staff room in the back. He leant against the door for a few seconds, watching as Shizune shut her locker looking bemused.

"Oh!" She looked startled as she realised she was being watched. "Kakashi..." she looked him over before asking, "are you hurt?"

"Nope."

"Ok... why are you willingly in the hospital then?"

He chuckled and wandered in, sinking into the couch with a comfortable sigh.

"You realise this is a staff room right?" Shizune asked with a roll of her eyes.

When he patted the couch next to her she wandered over, eyes wide. She gestured to a small vase next to the sink containing two deep orange roses and looked at him apprehensively.

"That wasn't you, right..?"

He cocked an eyebrow at her. "You wouldn't want flowers from me?"

She snorted. "Somehow I don't see you as the type of man that would leave roses in my locker."

Kakashi smiled in response and watched her shift uncomfortably.

"Orange represents sexual desire, huh?" he asked.

Shizune stared at him in disbelief. He chuckled, realising if he wanted a favour from her he probably shouldn't tease. "No, not from me."

She sighed, "thank the First..."

"Well, I suppose being that undesirable I should just go home."

She waved a hand at him dismissively. "Sorry, just a little uneasy."

"I thought women liked things like that?"

She shrugged. "It's kind of sweet, I suppose, but personally I prefer the direct approach, none of this tiptoeing around the point."

"A flower that says 'I want sex' is tiptoeing around the point?"

"A flower with no name attached is," she grumbled.

"I'll keep it in mind."

"So," she said brusquely, "what's with the visit?"

"Well," he scratched his chin thoughtfully, "I was hoping you could help me out."

"With Sakura?" He nodded and she gave him a small smile.

"I don't have too much time right now, but if you want we can head to the bar tonight and come up with some strategy?"

Kakashi gave her his best smile and she laughed. "Honestly Kakashi, what's the point of trying to win people over with smiles if they can't see your face?"

"If you know I'm smiling it still works."

She rolled her eyes and stood up, eyeing the roses uncertainly. "Do you know anything about those?" He shook his head, even though he had a vague idea. She hummed softly and waved over her shoulder as she left. Kakashi stood up and stretched, wondering what to do with the rest of the day.

* * *

Sakura grumbled miserably as she ran to the hospital. She hated rainy days, especially when she had to be somewhere. She supposed if she had just given in her progress report a few days earlier like she was going to she could have stayed in bed and read a book while the rain pattered lazily against her window, but no, she had gone out, got drunk and completely forgot about it until she had got home last night and noticed it spread out on her coffee table.

She cursed loudly as she ran into someone in the entrance, ducking around them with a hurried apology. They grabbed her arm to stop her running off, and she rounded on them with a snarl.

"What are-oh." She blinked water out of her eyes and smiled sheepishly up at her team captain. "Sorry, in a bit of a hurry."

"So I can see," he mused. She stared up at him, a little uncomfortable. Between breaks on her report last night she had been wondering if perhaps she had been a bit out of line yesterday. She had never initiated that kind of conversation with him before and she wasn't sure how he had taken it, not sticking around to find out. Deciding she should probably excuse herself, she paused with her mouth open, eyes on his umbrella.

"What is that?" She pointed, incredulous.

"An umbrella?" Kakashi held it up so she could see it better, and she continued to stare at him.

"I understand. Given the drowned look you're sporting, you've probably never seen one before," he said. She glared at him, scraping her wet hair from her face and huffing sulkily.

"I lost mine and haven't bought another yet, alright?" He grinned at her and held it out. "What?" She demanded.

"I don't mind getting a little wet," he said.

She felt a small blush grace her cheeks as her words from yesterday came back to her, and she took it from him gingerly, spreading the bright pink material outwards a little bit to see the pattern upon it. "A cartoon rabbit," she stated. "You stole some poor little girl's umbrella, and now you're giving it to me. If I get attacked by an angry six year old later I will be coming after you."

He chuckled merrily and turned to the door. "I'll see you at Ichiraku at lunchtime." She watched him step into the rain, hands in his pockets, before remembering why she was in the hospital in the first place.

She found Shizune, unsurprisingly, in the poisons division. "Heya!"

The medic smiled at her, putting down a sample and beckoning her towards the staff room.

"I got the progress report on those weapons."

"Oh yes, how's it looking?"

Sakura sighed heavily, slumping into a chair with a thoroughly defeated expression. Shizune sighed and sat down on the couch.

"Honestly, I feel like I said exactly the same thing in the last report. The only way of fixing it is to yank it out and hope we get chakra in the wound quick enough to heal it effectively and as for organ damage..." Skaura shrugged. A few weeks ago a chuunin had come into the hospital after a clash with enemy ninja with several kunai in his back. The first two were pulled out swiftly and with ease, however, when the supporting medic tried to speedily remove the third, the young shinobi was left with a massive chunk of his body missing. Everyone had frozen in panic until Tsunade had stepped in. It took seven medics and all of their chakra to bring him back from the edge of death, but it hadn't been enough to save his severed spinal cord, and the teenage chuunin would never be walking again.

The kunai had showed up in several other Leaf shinobi over the last few weeks, and several had died. These new kunai were longer and thinner than the usual kind, meaning they penetrated the body deeper. The worst part, however, was what they did after they entered the body. A mechanism was triggered on impact and half the blade would split, forming four prongs inside the body. Not only did this do considerable damage, but it created a barb like scenario and pulling the kunai out was treacherous. Tsunade had organised a few teams to do some recon in nearby towns and villages, and given Sakura the task of finding a safe way of removing the weapons from their injured comrades. It was proving much more difficult that she imagined.

"Nothing I think of would work without there being a bucket load of damage to the patients."

Shizune cursed quietly. The two women sat in a glum silence for a few minutes before Sakura decided she didn't want a think about it anymore. "Who are those for?" She pointed to some roses next to the sink and Shizune gave a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Actually, I keep finding them in my locker."

"Really?" Sakura grinned at her. A secret admirer, how cute! Shizune was picking at her uniform and glaring at the flowers as if their very presence had wronged her in some way.

"You don't like them?"

Shizune huffed. "Orange. So whoever sent them is basically saying all they want from me is sex. That's hardly the romantic gesture a girl wants from flowers."

Sakura shrugged and stood up. "Boys don't do the flower arranging classes in the academy. Whoever it was probably just assumed all girls like roses and didn't think much on the colour."

"It's a pretty generic flower," Shizune scoffed.

Sakura giggled, making her way to the door. "All roses mean some kind of love, at the end of the day." She waved and disappeared through the door, giggling at the accusatory look Shizune was now giving the flowers.

She spent a little time with the Hokage, handing in a copy of the report for her too and discussing it thoroughly. By the time she stepped into Ichiraku ramen, shaking the umbrella, her brain was considerably fried. She sat down with a huff and ordered some pork ramen, partly because she felt like it but mostly because she was missing Naruto. She wondered how he and Yamato would be doing out in this weather, and hoped they weren't pushing themselves too hard.

Ayame set the bowl in front of her with a smile and Sakura took an appreciative breath, her mouth watering at the delicious smell. Not that she would ever admit it to Naruto, but she really did love ramen. It had grown on her over the years, the amount of times they had ended up here, but given her initial derisive attitude towards the stuff in the old genin days she kept it to herself.

She looked around as someone else entered, and smiled at the lazy wave Shikamaru gave her. He looked, if it was possible, even more fed up than usual.

"Hi, how are you?"

He grunted.

"Oook..." He ordered and they sat in silence, Sakura not entirely sure what to say. She was spared striking up an awkward conversation, however, by the arrival of Kakashi.

"Hi, sensei!" She smiled at him brightly and he faltered, clearly unsure of why she was being so enthusiastic. She rolled her eyes and indicated he sit down, which he did, eyes still on her warily.

"Relax, jeeze, I'm just happy to see you," she grumbled around a mouthful of noodles. He creased his eye at her, ordered, and fiddled with his chopsticks in silence. Sakura shook her head, not sure whether to be frustrated or amused. How had she ended up eating lunch with the two quietest people in Konoha? She settled on amused, and let out a small snort of laughter. Kakashi eyed her quizzically and she just shook her head.

When Shikamaru's food arrived, he nodded in thanks, breaking his chopsticks in half a little more violently than necessary, and began stabbing at a piece of egg. Sakura rolled her eyes and placed her bowl down.

"Wow, aren't we merry rays of sunshine." Both men looked at her. She suppressed another eye roll and decided she would have more luck with Shikamaru than Kakashi.

"What's your problem?" She demanded. He glowered at her before popping the mutilated egg in his mouth. "Look, either tell me, or I'll set Ino on you." She grinned triumphantly as his body tensed and he placed his chopsticks down with a sigh.

"I did something stupid." Sakura snorted disbelievingly. "No, really." He sighed heavily, hands stretched out on his knees, as if he wasn't quite sure what to do with them. He was glaring at his ramen as he spoke, as though looking for something to blame.

"Ok, what?" She had to admit she was pretty interested. Something she had picked up from Ino over the years. Ino liked to call it taking an interest in people's lives and stories, but Sakura didn't like to live in denial, she knew gossip when she heard it.

He shot her a furtive glance before heaving another sigh. "From a girl's perspective, if we had sex and I left before you woke up and then went out of my way to avoid you for two days, what would you do?" Sakura felt Kakashi shift behind her.

"Umm, if _we _had sex?"

"Hypothetically."

Sakura tugged on the ends of her hair, starting to regret even asking, but she had and if he was willing to share, she supposed the least she could do was to help him out.

"Well, I mean, I'd like to think we're sort of friends-" she paused in case she had presumed too much but Shikamaru nodded in agreement- "so I guess it would hurt a little that you wouldn't want to at least talk about it." She shrugged, unsure of whether she was being helpful.

"Ok," he was looking at the table thoughtfully. Sakura thought that must have been good enough, so she turned back to her ramen. After a few seconds of silence, however, he spoke up again.

"What if it was Naruto?" Sakura choked.

"What?" She demanded.

"What if you had slept with Naruto, and it was him avoiding you?"

She turned incredulous eyes on him. "That would never happen."

"He wouldn't avoid you?"

"No," she snapped, "I would never sleep with him!"

Shikamaru sighed, "that's what I thought too.."

Sakura stared at him. "You never thought you'd sleep with... Naruto?"

Shikamaru looked at her in condescending disbelief and she heard Kakashi chuckle softly behind her.

"I never thought I would sleep with the person _I'm _avoiding."

"Right, right," she giggled nervously. "Sorry."

He rolled his eyes at her and she resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at him. Somehow she didn't think it was very mature.

"So you slept with a friend, regret it, and are now avoiding them," Sakura summed up.

Something soft passed through Shikamaru's eyes and he gave a small shake of his head. "I don't regret it."

"Then why are you avoiding her?"

He shrugged, "I don't know what she wants. Relationships are so troublesome, but she's going to try and force one because she wouldn't be a woman if she didn't."

Sakura's eyes became tiny green slits as she fixed him with her most poisonous glare. "Excuse me?" She ground out.

Shikamaru groaned. "Come on, you know what you women are like."

Sakura clenched her fists. Somehow punching one of Konoha's top strategists in the head would probably not be in the village's best interests, but dammit if he carried on...

"How do you even know she wants a relationship if you're too busy being a coward and hiding from her?" Her voice had risen a bit, and she bit the inside of her cheek in an attempt to control her temper. "At least women have the balls to face their feelings!"

Kakashi gave a bark of laughter behind her and she whirled on him. "YOU wouldn't know feelings if they bit you on the ass!"

He rested his chin on the palm of his hand and smiled. "Actually, Sakura, I was laughing at the whole women having balls part of your sentence."

She spluttered over her words. "You! What do you- sexist bastard!"

He openly laughed and she felt her body shake with rage. She knew this conversation needed to end soon or something was going to get broken. Wether her stool or someone's bones, she wasn't yet sure. He held up his hands in the familiar gesture of peace.

"I meant anatomically, Sakura."

She forgot her anger for a second and deadpanned, "not sexist, fucking immature."

She turned away from him unable to take the mirth pouring from his eye.

"Women are capable of having sex without wanting to get married," she snapped at Shikamaru, pushing her bowl away and glaring at the bench top.

He sighed and pinched his nose. "Sorry Sakura. To be honest she's the most troublesome girl I know, and I do not want a relationship, but with her..." He let the sentence slide and she just stared at him.

"With her?" She prompted.

"Maybe it would be alright."

Sakura gave a coy smirk. "What was that about girls mixing up sex with feelings?"

He glared at her almost savagely but she just grinned at him.

"I don't want it right now," he persisted. "Maybe in a year or two, but for now I just need to know how to tell her that I'm not ashamed of it, but I need her to be my friend, not my girlfriend." He mumbled the last word like it was taboo and Sakura shook her head, smiling.

"Well, you can either keep on avoiding her, or do the mature thing and tell her. Give her some flowers to placate it a little."

He looked at her. "I am _not _giving a girl flowers."

She waved a hand at him, rolling her eyes. "Girls like flowers but they don't always have to be given as a symbol of love or whatever. I mean something small that emphasises friendship. A yellow rose, some pear blossom..." She shrugged at his disapproving glare. "I'm just saying, kunoichi know the language of flowers, and if you can't say it in words..."

He looked at her thoughtfully, then shook his head. "I can't."

"Ino would help you-"

"I can't," he pressed, worry etched on his face.

"Come on," she scoffed, "you two have been friends for years, I'm sure she wouldn't-" Sakura gasped. She stared at him, waiting for some kind of denial, but he crouched in on himself and wouldn't meet her eyes.

"I can't believe she didn't tell me! That PIG!"

"Sakura.."

She shook her head furiously. They were supposed to be best friends, they had seen each other yesterday and she had no problems telling her everyone else's embarrassing stories from that night and yet she had kept something this huge a secret.

Kakashi tapped her shoulder lightly, and she looked up enquiringly. "A part of growing up is learning how to deal with these kinds of situations. Perhaps Ino is just trying to sort through her own feelings before she tells anyone?"

Shikamaru was staring intently at the other man. "What do you think I should do?"

Kakashi smiled, scratching the back of his head. "Well, I'm not one for long lasting relationships myself, but Sakura's right." She looked at him surprised. "You should talk to her; find out where her head's at, before making any rash decisions like defecting to another village or something."

"Where were you when I was twelve and in need of relationship advice?" Sakura asked. He just grinned at her. She noted, with disappointment, that his food had come at some point during the conversation and his bowl was now empty. She shook her head feeling fed up.

"Cheer up, Sakura-chan," he squeezed her hand gently and she resisted the urge to turn her hand around and grip his lightly, enjoying the warmth of it. Before anything else could be said, a small pop and a curl of smoke made them all jump.

"Katsuyu?"

The slug before her was tiny compared to the size Sakura knew her to be and she squirmed restlessly on the bench. "Sakura!" Her high, breathy voice seemed panicked. "You must get to the hospital quickly! Another team has come in and one of them has been hit by one of those kunai."

Sakura swore violently, jumping to her feet.

"I'm sorry, I have to go."

She raced out of the ramen stand, praying there would be something she could do.


	5. Chapter 5 Toads like beer too

**Chapter 5: Toads like beer too**

"Shit..."

Sakura stood frozen as the panic escalated around her. Tsunade was barking orders at the other medics, Shizune was blinking tears from her eyes furiously as she tried to insert a drip and nurses were crowding around with gauze and clipboards and generally seeming to cause more chaos. Amongst all of this, however, Sakura's eyes had found three people standing back from the gurney.

She laid a hand on the older woman's arms and she jumped, blinking at Sakura like she couldn't really see her.

"You should wait outside."

Kurenai shook her head. Sakura eyed the two twelve-year old academy graduates behind her. They had been genin for three months and she knew they had never experienced something as horrific as this before.

"Kurenai-san, for their sake..." Kurenai turned deep red eyes on her squad and nodded, stepping out and beckoning them to follow her. The two boys shook their heads furiously. Sakura bit her lip, understanding their need to stay but knowing full well they shouldn't be in there. She was spared thinking up the kindest way to explain this to them by her shishou.

"ENOUGH! I want everyone out of this room except Shizune, Sakura and Kinuko!"

The older nurse looked terrified at being chosen to stay behind, but she swallowed and took the chart from one of her colleagues before dutifully standing beside the Fifth Hokage. Sakura tried her best to give the boys a reassuring smile but they cast worried glances towards the bed and walked out.

"I'm going to focus on organ repair, you two pump as much chakra into her body as you can, aiming for cell growth and blood production. Counter any affects of shock you can and make sure her heart keeps beating."

Sakura walked curiously over, wondering if they had managed to remove the kunai somehow, stopping short in horror. It had definitely been removed.

"What happened?"

"Kurenai said the girl panicked; she couldn't stop her in time."

Sakura's mind had frozen. Her entire being was hyper-focused on the gaping hole on the right side of the young girl's body. There was blood everywhere and something thicker draped out sickeningly. What appeared to be two ribs were sticking out at unnatural angles. She found herself shaking her head. She couldn't fix this. Even Tsunade couldn't fix this. She only had to glance at the wound to know the lung had been completely destroyed.

"Tsunade-sama..." She whispered, feeling tears form in the corner of her eyes.

"You've been told what to do, Sakura."

Barely two minutes had passed before the child's heart failed, and Sakura was delegated the task of keeping it beating, forcing the blood around the body, encouraging the one remaining lung to work. They had put her on a ventilator before she had got there, but with one lung completely gone Naho needed all the help she could get.

Sakura felt tears sliding down her cheeks. She hated feeling this helpless, but even though she had the utmost faith in her shishou, the first thing the old sannin had taught her when she entered the hospital was that sometimes the patient died, no matter what you did. Looking down at this little girl broke her heart. Was she in love with one of her teammates, like Sakura had been? Had she been planning out her first kiss, like she once did? Her mouth twitched a little at the memory of her first kiss with Kiba, of all people, but that's what she got for letting him walk her home after they had all gone out one night. Nothing had really come of it except one more experimental kiss before they both conceded there was nothing to pursue. She blinked and her tears splashed on her hands outstretched over Naho's heart. She couldn't do this, comparing herself to this girl would be suicide right now.

She wasn't sure how long they stood there, but Sakura felt the fatigue settling in and the muscles in her arms were cramping painfully when Tsunade finally took a step back.

"I can't repair it."

Shizune and Sakura looked up at her, still forcing chakra into the young girl's body. Kinuko made a soft noise in her throat and walked out of the door.

"That's enough."

Shizune stepped back, obviously struggling to remain composed. Sakura shook her head. She couldn't let this girl die. She was twelve! She didn't care that ninja died every day, or that Naho was a member of the leaf shinobi force and that this was something they were trained for, she was twelve and she needed to live.

She felt hands close over her shoulder's and pull her away gently. "Sakura, that's enough." The three medics' stood there dejectedly for a few minutes before Tsunade walked out to complete the awful task of telling the team.

Sakura and Shizune regarded each other miserably before beginning the clean up. A few of the nurses came in and satisfied they would do a better job than she could at that moment, she washed her hands and arms thoroughly and left the room. The two boys were yelling furiously, demanding they do something else, that they bring her back. Kurenai was crying softly, head in her hands. Sakura knew the jonin teachers always blamed themselves savagely when any of their team got hurt, and a death this young was just tragic. She was unsure of what to say. She often chatted to Kurenai whenever she saw her but she wasn't sure if they were close enough for Sakura to offer her any consolation right then. She bit her bottom lip but was spared the decision as Shizune sat down next to the distraught woman and put an arm around her shoulders.

"Sakura, my office."

Sakura nodded glumly and dejectedly followed her shishou. She hated this feeling. It always brought up memories of her genin days. This feeling of complete and utter failure. It didn't matter how many times Tsunade or Shizune told her this was a part of being a medic. It didn't even matter how many times she tried to convince herself she did everything she could; the uselessness engulfed her until she couldn't breathe anymore. Her breath hitched as she tried to choke back a sob.

Tsunade waved her in and shut the door with more force than necessary, before slumping into her chair and indicating Sakura should sit in the one remaining seat in front of the desk.

She heard Tsunade sigh audibly and looked up, not sure where this conversation was going to go.

"We gave it everything we could."

Sakura nodded. Somehow she didn't feel any better.

"Look, I'm sending you on a mission in a month to the resort island of Hachimitsu to gather intel on the production of these Kunai. We have a lead on a ninja-turned-merchant who is possibly selling these things but I need you on this. Genma is leaving in twelve days to recon and set up for your arrival."

Sakura nodded. It had been a while since she'd actually gone on a mission and if it would help get to the bottom of these weapons and save her fellow shinobi she would do everything she could.

"There may be things you need to do, things I wouldn't ordinarily condone..."

"Its fine, Tsunade-shishou, I'll do anything to protect my village."

Tsunade regarded her with wide eyes before giving the briefest of nods. "Well, take some time off, train and just get ready. I'll organise a mission scroll closer to the date."

Sakura gave another curt nod and stood up. It was three thirty and she was done for the day. She already felt her couch calling her name and knew she was picking up a litre of ice cream on her way home. She said farewell and left, thankful for Kakashi's random act of kindness that morning as she stared at the bunny patterned umbrella.

* * *

Kakashi waved as he entered, but apparently Shizune wasn't amused. He had genuinely tried to be on time, but when he saw he had an hour to kill he had fallen asleep. He slid into the booth opposite her and accepted the drink she pushed towards him. Given the small collection of glasses next to her, she obviously had quite a head start.

"Sorry, Shizune-san," he began, shaking his wet hair out of his eye. "A little girl in my building lost her umbrella and-"

"Don't bother, Kakashi."

He smiled and took a sip through his mask, noticing the normally lively woman in front of him seemed tense, a tightness to her eyes that wasn't usually there. He didn't push the issue, and he didn't bother starting up a conversation. She knew why he was there and would start talking in her own time, but for now she seemed content staring at the clear liquid in front of her. Anyone else would have found the situation awkward, but Kakashi was quite happy to sit across from a pretty woman and have a drink.

Eventually Shizune let out a sigh and shook her head. "Ok, look, I can't be here too long. I've had a shit day and if it was anyone but Sakura or you I wouldn't be doing this."

Kakashi nodded. He decided to hold back his usual attempts of lightening the mood. Women tended to respond to his charm well enough but for some reason he had a feeling if he even cracked one joke Shizune would be off. He also felt the usual condescending witticisms he pulled on the younger shinobi he was acquainted with probably wouldn't be appreciated now either, especially as he guessed Shizune and Sakura would have similar senses of humour. At least Shizune couldn't break him if he said the wrong thing.

"Sakura really loves what she does at the hospital. She has a variety of research projects and as long as they're not classified, she would jump at the chance to have someone listen to her. I know most of her friend's aren't interested, and only Shikamaru could really keep up with her anyway, but she loves it when her audience is attentive."

Kakashi gave a curt nod. To him, this was something all women loved and he fought the need to roll his eyes. At the back of his mind he realised Genma's advice was, in retrospect, damn obvious. Get a medic to talk about hospital related research and feign interest. No shit.

"More than anything, Sakura loves recognition. Not outwardly, of course and not exactly in the form of praise, but it makes her feel appreciated and valued, particularly given her past." Kakashi cocked an eyebrow at that last remark.

Shizune levelled him with a particularly flat look. "The whole Sasuke debacle."

Ah. Debacle was definitely the appropriate word. He knew he hadn't handled that situation properly and the devastated look on his young students face when he and Naruto had brought the only remaining Uchiha's body home was still blazed into his memory. Her eyes, ever mirrors to her emotions, had been filled with absolutely everything humanly possible to feel. He saw it all. Relief that her teammates were safe, anger they hadn't told her what they were doing, regret that she wasn't with them, sorrow that their rouge member had chosen death instead of letting his need for revenge go... More than anything, the one that had struck him at the time was the intense hopelessness that darkened the green eyes when they had lingered on Naruto. The jinchuuriki had given her a sad smile, wrapped his arms around her, and led her away. Kakashi had been perturbed, at best, but had found plenty of distraction in the mission report and organising a small funeral. The then rookies had all attended, along with himself, his team, Tenzou, the Fifth and Shizune.

After Naruto had said his final goodbye, something about bonds not being broken even by death, Sakura had stepped forward. She had placed morning glory on the grave and simply said, "I'm sorry." Her voice had held such a raw, broken edge to it that Kakashi's heart went out to her. He knew what it felt like to lose friends, but more importantly, how crushing it was to believe it was your fault. He heard it in her voice, all the shame and misery that he had been overlooking until that moment.

He had wanted to comfort her but knew she would be in good hands with Naruto, the Yamanaka girl and the other young ninja who were her friends. He had found them all the next morning around the memorial stone, clearly hung over. Despite the small amusement he felt at the rude awakening, that deeply sad look in Sakura's eyes was still there, and he wanted to get rid of it. He did the only thing he could think of, and treated her and Naruto to Ichiraku. Yes, he, the legendary Copy Nin Kakashi, had undone his tightly knotted wallet strings and bought them breakfast. They had sat in silence for the longest time, Naruto eventually being summoned by the Hokage, before Kakashi had tried lightening the mood with some humour. She had given him some small smiles, but they faded as quickly as they came and eventually he had asked, "why morning glory?" The choice of flower had stumped him, everyone else choosing the traditional white cala or rose and the dark, velvety purple had stood out against them like a deep wound on pale flesh.

"Because I couldn't help. For everything I had learnt, as far as I thought I'd come... I was still as useless to him as I was in the Land of Waves..."

It was the first time he had initiated physical contact with a teammate since his first and only clumsy kiss with Rin when he was fourteen. Besides his usual hair ruffling, of course, but he knew that wasn't what she needed at that moment. He had pulled her into a tight, but brief hug. On release, he had tucked a strand of pink hair behind her ear and smiled at the evident shock on her face.

"It's always going to hurt, Sakura-chan, but it will dull overtime and reinforce the need to get strong so you can protect the people you care about. Sasuke chose his path, and none of us could help him. This isn't your failure, it's all of ours and we'll share this pain with you."

She had nodded weakly, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. It hadn't been what he wanted to say. He had wanted to reassure her, tell her it wasn't her fault, but he knew it would make no difference, so he had settled on the truth.

"Besides all that, you were never useless. You give Naruto strength, and that's not something that warrants a flower that says you felt you didn't help."

She had shook her head giving a quiet, broken laugh. "That's not what the flower meant, Kakashi-sensei." He watched her puzzled until she brought darkened, forest green eyes to his. Her face had been so close he could still see the tiny, glittering tears caught on her mascara smeared eyelashes and the dark smudges under her eyes indicating exhaustion.

"It means 'love in vain'" she had whispered, before leaving.

Had that same girl really grown so much in the last four years that she could truly not confuse her feelings around him if he were to bed her and break it off instantly? Would she understand, be adult enough to let it go, or would it be one more crushing blow to her fragile soul? He wanted so much for her to stay how he knew her now. Knowing enough pain to be rational in battle; determined in protecting her friends and being good-natured enough to take his quirks and flaws. Most of all, for that shining, pure happiness that burst forth every now and then that reminded him of the genin she had been before Sasuke had abandoned the village and his team and left her feeling like she was no use to them.

He felt his free hand clench into a fist. He hadn't been angry that Sasuke had left, or that he had wanted to crush his home. In that, he was ruthlessly cold towards the situation, knowing that a threat to Konoha would have to be eradicated. What had got to him most was what Sasuke leaving had done to the other two. It had left them broken, unsure of themselves as shinobi, as friends... For all of Naruto's posturing and screaming defiance Kakashi could see the doubt that poured from him when he thought no one else was looking; could see the despair that clouded Sakura's eyes when everyone had turned their heads away. Yes, more than anything, those two had stuck by his teachings and stubbornly insisted that they would never abandon their friend and for all of their loyalty Sasuke had thrown it savagely back at them and destroyed his own young life in the process.

Naruto had never blamed the Uchiha and Sakura blamed herself for not being able to convince him to stay, but Kakashi? For a while he thought it was his fault and that his lesson hadn't been enough, but overtime, Naruto and Sakura's persistence had made him realise that he couldn't have completely failed as a teacher. Sure, they had both gone off and trained under different sannin members, and they had excelled in power, but the importance of the team, of camaraderie and loyalty to your friends? Kakashi had no qualms of claiming that as his own teaching achievement and this had eventually led him to the realisation that Sasuke had been his own undoing. Sasuke had caused them all this pain and worry and he had to fix it if they were ever going to move on. He had walked into the Hokage's office one morning and told her he was leaving on a mission to remove the threat of Uchiha Sasuke. He had been met with no resistance, but Tsunade had insisted he take Naruto. He had been reluctant, but understood the little knucklehead would need to try one last time to convince Sasuke to come home, even if Kakashi knew it was futile.

He sighed heavily, shaking himself out of his reverie to discover Shizune had been talking the entire time. _Damn, _he thought, rubbing the beck of his neck. He really needed to pay more attention to people when they spoke.

"I wouldn't bother with gifts or anything like that; she'll be far too suspicious if they're coming from you. Unless you can find some way of making them personal in a way she would expect from you... if that makes sense... Basically you need to find a way to still be you, but put the thoughts into her head. Anyway, just start small, be there when she needs you but do something for her she knows you wouldn't do for anyone else."

"You realise I have less than a month to do this? Can't I just show up with some sake and-"

Shizune narrowed her eyes at him. "You treat her like the well-deserving woman she is, Hatake-san or I swear you won't be able to eat in this village again."

He eyed her suspiciously; well aware she could find a way to slip poison into his groceries. "I have every intention of treating her right. I can treat a woman so right she'll forget what her own name-"

"I mean it all matters!" Shizune snapped, a slight blush gracing her cheeks. "Not just the act, but the lead up and the way you deal with it afterwards. If you don't tread carefully you could ruin your relationship with her and team Kakashi would become ineffective."

He sighed heavily, swilling the rest of his drink. "I know. I'm going to have to teach her the concept of friend's with benefits."

Shizune shook her head but he saw the corner of her mouth twitch. "Maybe you can concentrate on the friend part for today. " She pinched her nose and sighed. "We lost a twelve-year old this afternoon. Naho."

Kakashi made a soft sound in his throat. He knew losing a patient was hard enough for Sakura but a kid? She must be pretty torn up about it... "Wait, Naho?"

Genma took that moment to slide into the booth next to Shizune, laying his arm around her shoulders and shooting Kakashi a look that was all male challenge. Kakashi rolled his eye to show it was pointless and Genma's dark expression vanished into a grin.

"Where was my invite?"

Kakashi ignored him and focused on the medic who had dropped her head into her hands.

"What's up?" Genma's smile faltered.

"Naho died," she choked out, and Kakashi became aware that she was crying. He shot a look at Genma, and the usual idiotic face became sombre as he eased Shizune out of the booth and to her feet.

"Come on," he whispered, "let's go for a walk."

Kakashi left the bar a few minutes later. He would pay Sakura a visit and see if he could alleviate her no doubt bad mood. That surely counted as being there for her. First, however, he would visit Kurenai. As a jounin teacher himself, he remembered how terrified he felt every time his students had been in danger when they were younger. If he had lost any of them when they were genin it would have broken him and he knew she would be devastated right now. More than that, he felt he owed it to his late friend Asuma to check in on her every now and then.

He found her sitting on an armchair in her living room stroking her sleeping daughter's hair. The two boys on her team were also there, sprawled out on the couch, one also asleep.

"Yo," he announced, letting himself in through the window. She gave a small smile and rolled her eyes. "I have a door, you know."

"Ah, that's not the ninja way." He stared coolly at the alert genin who gulped before squeaking. "Would you like my seat, Kakashi-senpai?" He raised an eyebrow in answer and the boy jumped from the couch as if he had been electrified and sat neatly on the floor.

Kakashi noticed the boy asleep next to him had tear marks down his face and looked thoroughly beaten. "He shouted at Tsunade for half an hour. I brought him back here and he cried himself to sleep..."

"He really cared for Naho-chan..." Kakashi gave the boy at his feet an uncharacteristic pat on the head. He was regarded with suspicious eyes for a moment before a small, watery smile appeared.

"Want some tea?" He asked, wondering if Kurenai still had that really nice jasmine one he loved.

"I have it under control, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi looked up and smiled as Nara Shikamaru entered holding a teapot and several cups. The boy religiously checked in on Kurenai and her daughter for the same reason Kakashi did but on a much more frequent basis. The boy had already been confirmed as the girl's sensei when she graduated and he could often be seen teaching her how to throw kunai or pointing out funnily shaped clouds.

He nodded and stood up.

"You can stay of you want," Shikamaru offered him a cup, but Kakashi declined politely.

"You look after Kurenai," he said, smiling at the woman who was blowing on the steaming tea in front of her. "I'm going to check on Sakura."

Shikamaru tensed slightly, obviously remembering his conversation with the medic earlier, and nodded.

By the time Kakashi had approached Sakura's building, the sun had gone down completely. People were bustling about the town, laughing loudly and shouting to each other. Coloured lanterns were criss-crossing the streets, winking merrily at the crowds below and Kakashi couldn't help wondering how Sakura possibly got any sleep living on this street. He walked casually up the side of her building, chuckling at the gawping, drunk civilians below him. He paused outside her window, wondering if she would mind him entering through her bedroom before shrugging and letting himself in. He cocked his head, confused, as a loud chorus met his ears. He recognised it as a drinking song he knew Jiraiya had made up in his youth about toads drinking too much beer and opened her bedroom door utterly perplexed.

* * *

Sakura was wallowing in self pity, gulping down ice cream like it was oxygen and watching a very bad soap drama when the banging on her door started. She groaned loudly, irritated in being forced to her feet. She was wearing a black tank top and even though it was hot, a baggy pair of grey sweatpants. She hoisted them up, giving them a happy pat as she secured them around her hips. She lovingly referred to them as her comfy pants and slipped into them every time she came back from a mission or had a particularly gruelling shift at the hospital.

She barely had time to snap at whoever had disturbed her before she found herself being pulled into a bone crushing bear hug. She let Naruto and Sai into her apartment and they told her how they had run into Shizune. Yamato had apparently decided to call their training session short while the rain continued so Naruto had a little break for a while. She had spent a few minutes recounting the horrible event before insisting she didn't want to talk about it anymore. They had then spent the rest of the afternoon playing drinking games based on cheesy tv programs. They had attempted to make dinner around six but failed miserably, spending a good half an hour giggling over the burnt mess. Sai, being the most sober, had gone for takeout, procuring a few bottles of wine in the process. Sakura had been quite surprised he had bought more alcohol but he had simply smiled and said he thought she needed it. Sakura was vaguely aware this was borderline Tsunade alcoholism but really couldn't bring herself to care today. She made a small pact with herself to not drink again for at least five days and joyfully accepted a glass. At some point Naruto had taught them a song Jiraiya had made up and this was how Kakashi-sensei found them, belting it out, wine in hand.

She hiccoughed and giggled, a little embarrassed her captain had found her in this state again, but also quite happy to see him. "Now the team is all together!" She shouted excitedly, fumbling with the bottle and passing it over to him.

"Do you know the song about the drunk toads?" Naruto asked excitedly.

Kakashi ignored him, placed the bottle back on the table and openly stared at Sakura. She stared back, eyebrow raised.

"Umm, I thought I'd check in."

"Why?"

He blinked at her.

"I just came from Kurenai's.."

She sighed. She really didn't want to think about it right then. She was happy he had decided to see if she was ok but she was unwilling to discuss it again.

"Thanks, Kakashi-sensei, but either help yourself to a glass or go." He regarded her for second, eyes unreadable, before strolling into her kitchen to find a glass. Sakura had to admit, she was a little surprised. She had expected him to leave, but the sight of him sitting down in her armchair and pouring himself a glass, evidence of a smile under his mask, warmed her heart. She loved it when they were all with her. She glanced around, smiling happily at the boys as Naruto started flicking bottle caps at Sai. Whenever one of them was away on a mission she had a constant pressure in her chest, so the times they got to spend together like this were truly some of her happiest moments. They spent an enjoyable evening drinking together, laughing raucously at Naruto's attempts to draw each of them in Sai's sketchbook. Sai seemed untroubled by the amount of pages Naruto was tearing out and even let out a laugh as Sakura beat the blonde over the head with it after a particularly suggestive drawing of her.

By the time eleven had rolled around, Sakura was fighting to stay awake. Everyone had lulled into a peaceful silence and Naruto was snoring, spread out on the floor.

"Probably time for bed," Kakashi suggested with a smile.

Sakura nodded, putting her feet up on the couch after Sai stood. He picked the blonde up effortlessly, wishing them a goodnight as Kakashi closed the door. He walked over to the couch and pushed Sakura's feet out of the way. She growled at him half-heartedly and pulled herself into a sitting position. "I thought it was bedtime, Kaka-chan?" She giggled at the new nickname, oddly proud of herself.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Isn't that a bit inappropriate, Sakura-chan?"

She rolled her eyes at him. Sure, maybe it would have been when she was still his student, but the alcohol had boosted her confidence and given their exchange yesterday it wasn't really bothering her.

"So," he declared, in what had affectionately become known as his 'teacher voice.' "Would it be pointless to ask you about today?"

She fixed him with bored eyes. She knew he meant well, but she just didn't want to talk about it.

"Ok, guess its also pointless telling you it's not your fault then. You'll probably blame yourself anyway."

She sighed irritably and stood up, collecting the used glasses and taking them to the kitchen. He did this a lot and she was starting to get annoyed at how easily he could drag information from her. If he was an enemy ninja she would have been screwed. Then again, the reason he was so good at it was probably because he knew her so well. If it hadn't been for the alcohol she probably would have broken down and sobbed already but instead she found herself getting angry. He was prying into her feelings and this time she refused to say anything.

She felt rather than heard him move into the kitchen behind her and she began rinsing the glasses as a distraction.

"Tsunade-sama couldn't even save her, and she's the best," he pressed. She ground her teeth audibly. Why wouldn't he let this slide? She had told him she didn't want to talk about it so why wouldn't he leave it alone?

She heard a chair scrape against the floor and a shifting of clothes as he sat down. His eye was boring into the back of her head and she sighed. She knew he wouldn't leave until she talked to him and as infuriating as it was, she had to admit she always felt better after unloading on him every once in a while.

"I feel terrible. A twelve-year old girl died today and I couldn't stop it."

"No," he said softly, "you couldn't."

"I need to blame myself," she snapped, the idea of his pity making her feel ill. "This way I can use the anger and pour it into finding a solution, getting myself ready for this mission Tsunade-shishou is sending me on."

Kakashi was silent for a time. She finished the last glass and turned to him, his eyes seemed lost in thought and she waved. He blinked at her and his eye creased slightly in the corner.

"A mission," he prompted.

"Yeah, I think she wants me to use whatever means necessary to take down whoever is responsible for those kunai."

"Mn."

"I know she thinks it'll be hard for me, being a healer and all, but if it's for the good of our shinobi I can do what's necessary."

She worried her bottom lip between her teeth. Could she, though? For all her tough talk, she really wondered if she would be up for it. Whenever she thought of torture and interrogation Ibiki's terrifying face entered her mind and she wondered how long it had taken him to harden up to his duties. To be able to look his victims in the eyes and feel nothing as they screamed.

"It'll be hard," she whispered, "but I know it's to protect everyone." She looked up at him, determined. He hadn't said anything yet and she needed to hear him say it was alright, maybe even relay his own gruesome tales. If nothing else he might provide her with some ideas.

"I guess you've done it before," she said. His eye widened at her and she pulled worriedly at her hair. Maybe the memories were too horrific to share. She knew there was a lot about the man in front of her that she didn't know and a whole lot more that he would never tell her, but she would really appreciate some kind of reassurance. Something that would make her feel at least a little less like vomiting at the idea of torturing another human being for information.

Kakashi was relentless in his silence, however, and she knew if she wanted information or advice from him she was better off asking directly.

"Could you tell me what it's like?"

Kakashi choked. He visibly blanched and sat up straighter.

"I'm sorry," she murmured quickly, tugging on her hair and trying to keep her expression neutral. "It's probably not something people ever fully recover from, I just was hoping for a bit of advice. Tips, maybe? Like how to do it with minimal blood loss and-"

Kakashi held up a hand. "Wait," he said sharply, "what are we talking about?"

Sakura regarded him with puzzled eyes. Was he serious? He was an elite jounin and had worked for ANBU, he must have had his fair share of peoples blood on his hands.

"Umm, torturing people for information?"

Kakashi barked a laugh but recovered himself quickly with a cough.

"Smooth," Sakura deadpanned, rolling her eyes.

He scratched the back of his head and regarded her coolly. She could see him working something out behind that dark eye and stood with a huff, walking over to her couch and flinging her feet over the armrest. He followed her in and instead of sinking into his usual chair he sat himself behind her head and stared down at her.

"Sakura..."

"Mmm?"

He was quiet for a second and she glanced at him, confused by his apprehension.

"Tsunade-sama told you to use any means necessary and your mind goes straight to torture?"

She glared up at him. She wasn't quite sure where this was going and lying down had made her painfully aware of her queasy stomach. She massaged her temples slowly trying to dispel the forming headache. She already felt like the hangover was setting in and she sighed frustratingly.

"What else is there?"

"What else is there?" His voice sounded incredulous. He seemed genuinely stunned by her response and her exhausted, drunken state and his strange attitude was starting to grate on her nerves.

"Sensei, what are you talking about?"

"I'm not your sensei anymore," he replied flatly.

She sat up and stared at him. What the hell was going on here? Was he drunk? A devilish smile curved her lips before she could stop it and his head tilted in response. She frowned, more at herself than him and admonished herself quietly. Now was really not the time to be thinking about removing his mask.

"Ok, what are you talking about, Kaka-chan?"

She giggled as he visibly rolled his eye at the nickname.

"Sakura, some things you just need to figure out on your own."

She pouted at him and stood up. "I'm tired, and we have an early morning tomorrow."

"We do?" He dragged himself off the couch and she smiled vindictively.

"I need a punching bag tomorrow and this time I am not curbing my chakra for your benefit old man."

He held a hand over his heart and shook his head before fixing her with a sorrowful eye.

"Sakura, I am a young and fit specimen of a man."

She raised a slender pink eyebrow at him and pointed to the door. He chuckled lightly, raised a hand at her in farewell and left a cloud of smoke in her apartment. She found herself smiling as she lay down in bed that night. Her head was pounding and she was fighting to ignore her body's need to empty her stomach, but underneath it all, she felt a familiar buzz of happiness. Kakashi always found a way to reassure her so subtly she didn't even notice until he was gone. He hadn't helped her deal with the prospect of torture, but he had made her smile and feel better about herself for a little while.

All the thoughts of the day came crashing on her and even though there was still sadness, still hopelessness and despair, she couldn't help but smile at the evening she had shared with her little family. They loved her, and they sure didn't think she was useless. She should take pride in her skills as a medic and really start learning to not beat herself up every time she lost someone. She frowned at these thoughts. Surely she needed to feel guilty, the girl had died... She did, she realised with a sigh. No amount of laughing and drinking with her team was going to take that away, but she would stay strong for them and give her all to bring the bastard behind those weapons a world of pain.

* * *

Genma gave a slight smile. Not enough for the woman tucked into his side to notice, of course. She probably wouldn't appreciate him smiling; he just couldn't believe he had considered Kakashi a threat. Of course he wasn't hitting on Shizune. The two of them may have looked pretty cosy sitting tucked away in the corner of the tavern but he realised the fury he had momentarily felt was just stupid. He was also trying to tell himself he had felt said fury because he had been on many missions with Shizune and she was his dear friend and teammate. It had nothing to do with the fact that the idea of another man being with her made his blood boil. Nothing at all...

He had to admit, there was a manipulative and vindictive part of him that wanted to press his advantage with Shizune's currently vulnerable state, but a much bigger part of him couldn't. If he was ever lucky enough to find her in his bed, he wanted her to _want _to be there, but more importantly for the first time in a _really_ long time, he wanted it to last. Maybe not forever, but definitely longer than one night. He had a feeling comfort sex wouldn't go beyond that, so instead he walked her home and let her cry into his shoulder, settling down on her couch to wait it out and hope her gratitude the next day would be enough to at least score him a free lunch.


	6. Chapter 6 Poking at Dragons

**A/N **I got far too excited and smashed out another chapter lol! Hope I haven't missed any spelling/grammatical errors and hopefully I can get some beta readers eventually but for now I'll have to make do :P

So this is looking at developing the relationship between Kakashi and Sakura. I really don't want to rush into it but for the story to progress as all us fans of KakaSaku smut have come to expect, I need to start laying down the curiosity and agonising confusion I take so much joy in these characters feeling. I'm only slightly mean to our beloved Kaka-chan ^_^

So stick with me because I want to develop this properly! Reviews always welcome.

* * *

**Chapter 6: Poking at dragons**

Sakura waited.

It was hardly surprising he wasn't there yet, but she still sighed and angrily kicked at the grass. She was pretty sure by now she must have spent what equated to three years of her life just _waiting_ for Kakashi to show up. She had half a mind just to go home and crawl back into bed but she knew she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep.

It must have been close to two hours by the time he showed up looking as if he didn't have a care in the world. She placed her hands on her hips and glared at him.

He lifted a hand lazily and smiled. "Hey, Sakura-chan."

She continued her icy stare but it just seemed to amuse him more than anything and he stopped in front of her, hands in his pockets waiting for her to break the silence. They both knew she would.

"What, no excuse?" She snapped.

"Would you believe it?"

"No."

He just shrugged happily and continued to smile at her. She sighed heavily and lowered her arms.

"Alright, let's get star-"

"Actually, Sakura, I don't really feel like training."

She raised an eyebrow at him.

"And what do you feel like doing, Kakashi-sensei?"

"What," he grinned, "no Kaka-chan?"

She folded her arms and glared at the ground, feeling a slight heat rise in her cheeks. She had forgotten about that until this moment.

He chuckled and rubbed the back of his head the same way he had been doing since she had met him. "Anyway, I actually need your help with something."

"Oh?" She tried to sound disinterested but her curiosity had been piqued.

Kakashi sat cross-legged on the ground and indicated to the patch of grass in front of him. She folded her knees underneath herself and fixed eager eyes on him. If she was honest with herself, the idea of training wasn't terribly exciting this morning for her, either.

"So," he began cheerfully, "I just ran into Naruto on his way out for some more training with Yamato and after a little chat, he informed me that before he passed, Jiraiya had begun drafting the next Icha Icha novel."

Sakura's eyes widened. What exactly would he need her help with regarding pornography? She honestly could not think of a single scenario that didn't turn perverted in her mind.

Kakashi cocked his head. "Why are you blushing?"

"I'm not!"

He raised an eyebrow but said nothing more about it. Instead, he continued asking about this so called favour. Sakura felt her mouth opening wider and wider with every word he spoke, until eventually one of Naruto's toads could have jumped into it.

"_Are you insane?" _She hissed. "I am so not helping you!"

"Sakura-chan," he whined, "you're the only one who can."

She got to her feet shaking her head dumbly. He was an idiot with a death wish, there was no other explanation. She pulled at the ends of her hair and bit her lip. True, it would get her heart racing more than an S-class mission, and hadn't she wanted that for a while? But this... this was just asking for trouble. She glanced up into his glinting eye and all was lost. He was promising an adventure if nothing else, and she couldn't help grinning at him.

"If she catches us..."

"I have the utmost faith in our teamwork."

Sakura laughed and started towards the Hokage tower. "Come on then."

She contemplated Kakashi's plan as they walked. It was simple enough; Kakashi would distract her and Sakura would steal the transcript of the first ten chapters of the never to be completed Icha Icha book Tsunade had confiscated from Naruto.

"How do you plan to distract her?" Sakura asked, curious. It was true Kakashi could grate on the Godaime's nerves, but the Hokage physically had to leave the room for her to get into the draws on her desk.

"Hand in my late report."

Sakura's eyebrows knitted in confusion. He noticed her expression and crinkled his eye at her in a smile.

"I blew up a castle by accident, it's costing the village a hell of a lot of ryo, the report is two weeks late and consists of approximately, oh..." He made an exaggerated show of counting his fingers. "Three words."

Sakura snorted. Oh yeah, her shishou was definitely not going to be happy with him.

"What do you two want?"

Tsunade barely glanced at them as they came in. Apparently the scroll that unfurled over the ends of her desk was demanding most of her attention and nothing was going to distract her from reading it. Sakura was scuffing her foot on the ground nervously, hands clasped behind her back.

"I'm just keeping Kakashi out of trouble like you asked, shishou."

"Well," Kakashi added, "she's trying her absolute hardest, Tsunade-sama; I am a pretty big pain in the ass at times."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow at him and Sakura fixed him with an unreadable stare.

"Anyway," he chuckled, "I have something for you. Sorry it's so late." He held out the small scroll for her to take and Tsunade's eyebrows disappeared into her hair.

"Did you just apologise for handing in a late report?" He shrugged as she began to open it. "We can finally sort out this mess with-" Tsunade cut herself off with what could only be described as a snarl. Her eyes narrowed dangerously and the fury emanating from her would have been enough to send all the members of the Akatsuki running home to their mothers. Sakura tactfully tried to press herself into the wall.

"KAKASHI!" A coffee mug narrowly missed his head.

"What... the... HELL!" Each word was accompanied by an object being thrown at high velocity towards Kakashi, who evaded them gracefully.

"What's the problem? I feel it is an adequate description of what happened."

At that Tsunade was throwing herself across the desk. Kakashi ran out of the door followed by a blonde steam train.

Sakura gave a chuckle and walked around the side of the Godaime's desk where the oh-so detailed report lay open.

'_I kicked ass.'_

With a smirk, she rifled through the top draw for a few seconds before- yes! There it was! The only draft in the entire world of the never-to-be-published fourth Icha Icha book! Humming cheerily, Sakura made her way to the door. It opened before she reached it, however.

"Oh, Sakura, great. I need you to take these down to the archives."

She blinked stupidly at Shizune before rubbing the back of her head. "Umm.. sure thing Shizune. I just need to run this out. Tsunade said it was of utmost importance. I'll be right back though!" And with that, she ducked through the door.

"Sakura, wait a second!"

Shizune's head poked around the door.

"O-oh.. did Sakura go by?"

She stared into bored grey eyes. Kakashi shrugged and continued strolling down the hall, the draft securely in his pouch. He couldn't keep the grin off his face, so it was probably a good thing he wore a mask. He distantly heard a rumble which indicated Tsunade had caught up with Sakura. He winced and gave a forlorn sigh. If he was any kind of gentleman, he would go and help her out. Then again, the whole reason he proposed the henge's in the first place was because if Tsunade caught up with him, there was no way he'd survive. Sakura could match her strength and heal herself if necessary.

No, he thought, giving his pouch a happy pat. Sakura would be better off without him getting in the way. Besides, that's what she got for referring to him as a pain in the ass. So with a very uncharacteristic bark of laughter which spooked a nearby genin team, he disappeared in a cloud of grey smoke.

* * *

"What the hell, Sakura?"

"You were the one who told me to keep an eye on him," Sakura snapped, rubbing her bruised hip.

"And how exactly did that translate to helping him steal that piece of smut?" Sakura regarded her shishou with a heavy sigh. She had taken a painful hit to the side early on and been slammed into a nearby tree, resulting in a string of profanities that gave her away to the Hokage instantly. After dropping the henge Sakura had been forced to explain herself from her undignified sprawled position on the grass.

"It's been a while since I had a mission... I don't know shishou; it seemed like a little bit of fun." Tsunade raised her eyebrow. "I was going to make him put it back after he had finished..."

Tsunade sighed. "Tell him if he hands in a thoroughly succinct report he can keep it." With a wave over her shoulder, Tsunade walked away. Sakura sighed and crossed her arms- so much for Kakashi being her back up. She knew he would turn traitor the second that draft was in his hands. She should have known better; he was a brilliant shinobi after all. Picking herself up Sakura dusted off and applied a little medical jutsu to get rid of the bruise. She took a few steps forward gingerly and winced. It was going to be sore for a little while.

Stupid damn Hatake.

She wanted to pound him into so much jounin mash but decided to cool off before she went to see him. Who said she wasn't becoming a mature, level-headed woman? She threw her hands together into a seal and disappeared – appearing again outside her favourite tea shop. Sitting down with grunt, she waved over the waitress and ordered some green tea.

She thought about going over to his apartment and smashing through another door but eventually she would end up having to pay for it, no doubt conned into giving up her cash by his ridiculous charm... She sighed heavily. She really had nowhere else to go so after she finished her tea, she meandered painfully over to her old sensei's apartment.

Forgoing the door, she pulled herself in through the window, knocking over the Team 7 picture as she did. Hastily picking it up, she placed it beside the picture of Kakashi's genin team, smiling at the uncanny resemblance between Naruto and his father. She strolled into Kakashi's living room and unsurprisingly he was hunched over the draft.

"Yo."

She stomped to the table and snatched the draft up. "I do believe, as I did all the work, this is mine."

He gave her a raised eyebrow for her troubles and shrugged.

"If you really want it, you can have it."

Sakura was surprised her jaw didn't hit the ground. "What?"

He shrugged and lay back on the couch, eye never leaving her face. Sakura stood dumbfounded for a moment before shrugging and taking a seat on the floor. She lay the pages on his coffee table and began reading. She barely got two paragraphs in before she felt the tell-tale heat creeping up her neck. She lasted another three sentences before putting her head in her hands and muttering, "oh Kami..."

She heard Kakashi chuckle and shot him a glare.

"I cannot believe you abandoned me for THIS!"

"Really?" Kakashi mused, rubbing his chin.

"This is ridiculous! It isn't even a story!"

"Well, it is a draft, Sakura-chan. Maybe the story was something he came up with later?"

Sakura glared at the pages, demanding them to form themselves into a semblance of a plot.

"You probably shouldn't read anymore though." Kakashi reached across to take the pages, only to have a delicate hand slam down on his with enough force to crack the table.

Sakura was feeling particularly vexed, and decided her dear old sensei could sweat it out for a few days. "I'm taking it home; you can have it when I'm done."

Kakashi's eye narrowed at her. She was aware he was looking at her with the same stare he saved for his enemies right before raikiri cut through their hearts, but she refused to back down. Picking the papers up, she gave him her sweetest smile before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

Sakura chuckled to herself as she entered her apartment.

Flicking on the kettle, she settled down at the table and decided to carry on. She supposed it had been the fact she was reading it around Kakashi that had made her so uncomfortable. He was a massive pervert after all.

_But- if you want to read it, doesn't that make you one, too?_

"Shut up," Sakura growled at her inner-self. Reading through the first two pages, she was unsure why Kakashi didn't want her reading it. Perhaps he thought she was too young? But he was a fool if he thought she honestly hadn't been exposed to this kind of material before. Both her teammates were boys after all, and porn was one of Naruto's favourite things. That and Kiba loved to over share...

Sakura reached over for a pen when she noticed a spelling error and corrected it without thinking. Similarly, when a sentence she read didn't make much sense to her, she reworded it; as well as she could without exactly trying to picture the incredibly descriptive passage of what the protagonist of the story was doing with the daimyo's daughter.

She realised the third page in that a plot line was slowly developing. It appeared Jiraiya had started somewhere in the middle. She was starting to enjoy herself when it became apparent the daughter wasn't going to be the main squeeze of the protagonist Takashi. Oh no, it was a beautiful kunoichi from a far off village whose hair just so happened to be a beautiful shade of cherry blossoms in the spring.

Pink cherry blossom.

Jiraiya had given the love interest of TAKASHI **PINK **hair.

"That perverted old BASTARD!"

* * *

"Don't speak ill of the dead, Sakura." Kakashi chuckled to himself from his perch outside her window.

Obviously she had reached the part about the pink-haired kunoichi. He had seriously debated whether to just knock her out and hide the draft to save her from the embarrassment but he knew her reaction would amuse him to no end. Besides, it's not like she could blame him for it really. He didn't write it. If he was honest, he was quite surprised himself. Jiraiya had often gone on about how affairs with students were literary goldmines, but the fact he had used Sakura and himself as characters was a bit unnerving. What if this had actually been published? It might have caused a scandal in the village. Then again, if what he planned to do got out he would be in enough strife as it was.

He sighed to himself quietly. That particular problem wasn't becoming any easier for him the more she read on. Jiraiya had probably set him back in his mission about three years, which was around two years and forty-eight weeks too late. He doubted she would be able to even look him in the eye after she had finished, and he hadn't even got half way through before she showed up. Kami knows what else had been so descriptively put in there.

"I am going to bring him back and KILL HIM!"

Kakashi smirked. Obviously the personality of the fictional kunoichi was beginning to sound quite familiar to Sakura. Kakashi shook his head; how Jiraiya had planned to get away with that novel he would never know. Sakura was Tsunade in miniature; surely the old perverted sannin would have learnt his lesson when he used his teammate's image for Icha Icha Paradise. Sakura was just as capable of punching through walls as her shishou.

Kakashi heard an indignant snort from within.

"As if I'd be that easy."

He popped his head around the window to see Sakura scribbling furiously at a page. There was no way.

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

She let out a squeak and jumped from her seat, sending the chair crashing against the wall.

"What the hell are YOU doing!"

Kakashi dropped in through the window with ease and strolled to her table, picking up the page she had mutilated.

"Why are you correcting his work?"

"Because he's an idiot if he thinks that I would – err... that _any_ kunoichi would be so damn easy to win over!"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at her correction and turned to face her.

"So you're what – rewriting the story?"

"NO! Why would I even care that much? It's just annoying!"

Kakashi nodded and gathered up the other pages.

"What are you doing?" Sakura asked, moving back towards the small table.

"Given your complete lack of appreciation for art, I'm taking it back."

"But I haven't finished!"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at her, a small grin playing on his lips. "You _want _to read it?"

Sakura spluttered incoherently for a second, face turning a wonderful shade of magenta. Kakashi suppressed a chuckle as he watched the wheels turning in her head. If she admitted she wanted to read it, he would tease her mercilessly. If she stubbornly insisted she didn't really care; he could tease her mercilessly. He waited for the yelling to start so he could quite childishly call her a liar.

Sakura slumped into his favourite armchair and sighed. "Fine," she snapped, "it's mildly interesting enough for me to be intrigued." Kakashi blinked at her slowly. "Besides," she snapped, "I need to correct all those ridiculous things Jiraiya wrote about me!"

"You?" Kakashi asked lightly.

"How many other girls do you know with pink hair!"

Something happened then that Kakashi had not done in a long time. He saw his old students eyes go wide, for she had never seen it in all the years she had known him, of that he was dead certain. In fact, the last time he could recall it ever occurring was when Obito had crashed headlong into a tree mere seconds after claiming he was more graceful and deadly than a mountain cat.

Kakashi laughed. Not his usually chuckle or the occasionally manly (or so he liked to think) giggle that came from enjoying Icha Icha, but a delighted, raucous sound that had him groping for the back of the couch. The dumbfounded expression on Sakura's face made it all the worse and he collapsed onto the soft cushions, trying to compose himself.

He couldn't really explain it. She was so indignant, so naive, so damn adorable and all Kakashi could think was of how absolutely screwed he was. How the hell was he supposed to go through with this? There had to be some kind of bitter irony hidden in the situation somewhere and his subconscious had caught on before he had. That and the stress of the situation had clearly melted his brain.

How was he supposed to show her that it was the naughty things described in that draft that men loved. How was he supposed to encourage lustful behaviour from a woman who would rather sit there and correct grammatical errors in a piece of erotic literature than enjoy it the way it was intended.

He was a perverted, old man that much he could admit to himself. He had told himself he was following her because he wanted to get the draft back. But if that was the case surely he would have just let himself in and taken it straight away rather than sitting outside her window. So why had he then? Because he was masochistic and perverted and honestly wanted to see the way she reacted. Sure he knew she would get angry that Jiraiya had written her into the plot but that was no reason to be peeking through the window. He could convince himself that he was being wise and keeping his distance in case she really did blow up, but no. He was intrigued by how she would react once she got over her initial fury.

He wanted her to enjoy the idea. As in, _enjoy._

'_You're only male, it's natural to want women to want you_' the Jiraiya-inspired voice whispered.

"Oh Kami," Kakashi answered, "I'm going to hell."

He pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled exasperatedly. Coming back to himself, he realised Sakura was staring at him, lips parted, evident confusion etched in her features. At some point she had stood up, perhaps to see if he was alright, but was now standing there like a rabbit watching the wolf's jaws closing in. He sighed. He thought he could get away with what he had to do because no matter what his fellow jounin had said, no matter what he had tried to convince himself, he had made the decision that he was going to feel guilty about it. He was going to take Sakura's fury when it came because it was well deserved.

However, some primal part of Kakashi had already decided that he was going to relish the physical moment when it came. Jiraiya had apparently known him better than he had. Perhaps this was going to be the old sannin's way of pushing Kakashi into something the number one pervert couldn't pursue himself. Maybe the old man just knew Kakashi would be enthralled by the idea and unable to shake it, begin trying to bring some of the words to fruition. He didn't think the timing of the drafts appearance was a mere coincidence either and half-wondered whether the Hokage already knew of its existence.

Confused. That was the only definite conclusion his jumbled thoughts could come to. One of the greatest minds of the village and he couldn't sort through the mess of images and emotions swirling around his own head. He should have turned this mission down. Turning rouge honestly seemed like the safer option. If Naruto or Sakura herself didn't kill him when they found out, he would probably drive himself mad with the guilt.

Although, hadn't he just admitted he wouldn't feel guilty? He groaned outwardly. Not at the time, that was for sure. Something inside him had already laid claim to her. She was going to be his to mould as he saw fit; to do with as he wished and it had snaked its way into his conscious so subtly it had happened before he could stop it. What came afterwards though... he could think of no way of repairing what he would do. He would put it off for as long as possible as he was surely going to miss being a part of team 7, but when the inevitable happened it was going to eat him alive for the remainder of his days. This, in retrospect, wouldn't be very long once Sakura realised what had her innocence had been taken for.

He placed his head in his hands, fingers gently massaging his temples, and sighed. How had he lived long enough for this to have happened to him? Why couldn't he have gone out during the war as a blazing, honoured hero? Why did every single Sannin member see fit to at some point make his life damn miserable?

* * *

Sakura realised standing in the middle of the room with her mouth wide open was anything but classy, but what the _hell_ was she witnessing right now? Had the Copy Ninja final snapped? It was no doubt he has seen a lot in his life but she had no idea why he was choosing this moment and her living room to have his mental breakdown or midlife crisis or _whatever_ this was. She honest to Kami had no idea what to do. Maybe she could fetch him a glass of water... though he looked like he could do with something stronger... She supposed she could just give him back the draft if it honestly meant that much to him. Perhaps that was it? He was so distraught she was scribbling all over the last remaining link to his favourite author that he had broken down. He sighed audibly again. She had a feeling a headache was forming from the way he was rubbing his head. Her mouth closed and her eyes grew soft as she truly contemplated her last line of thought.

Jiraiya hadn't just been an author; Kakashi had known him since he was a child. She supposed they had even been friends, united by their mutual perversions. She made her way silently into the kitchen and poured three shots of sake. She placed them on the coffee table and picking up the draft, knelt down in front of Kakashi. He didn't move or in any way acknowledge her presence, simply continuing the small circular movements that now moved from his temples to his brow.

She reached out uncertain, hand hesitating momentarily before placing it tentatively on his knee. His head snapped up instantly and his eye focused on her with such intensity she stammered over her words as she spoke.

"I-I'm sorry. I never m-meant to upset you. Here," she thrust the draft into his hands and reached behind her for two of the shot glasses, holding one out for him to take. "In honour of Jiraiya-senpai," she said, downing her shot and vaguely remembering the promise she had made not to drink. "I shouldn't have been so disrespectful and changed his work. I'm so sorry, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi seemed to survey her closely for a long moment before looking at the papers in his hand. She saw his eye scanning over the corrections and notes she had made. She knew the moment he read the particularly descriptive paragraph she had reworded as his eye widened slightly and his eyebrow twitched upwards.

"It's actually better," he said, voice unnervingly calm after his display. He slouched backwards onto the couch, drank the shot through his mask and flipped the page over to continue reading through her editing.

"Really?" He asked lightly, "you wouldn't do that but you would, 'gently bite down on his neck, feeling his pulse quicken under your tongue while your hands moved lightly over his thigh'?" Sakura was so perturbed by the drastic turn in his demeanour to the normal, slouching, unfazed and frankly, irritatingly composed man he usually was that the embarrassment of having her words read back to her didn't sink in straight away. Apparently he seemed to realise this too, glancing up as if confused he didn't illicit a response from her. Apprehension dawned in his eye and he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Dont worry, Sakura-chan." She just stared at him. He gave her his patented I'm-as-happy-as-a-lark eye crease and said, "It's just been a strange day."

She nodded slowly. It wasn't everyday you stole something from the Hokage then read a pornographic draft that depicted yourself and your student doing such compromising things to one another , only to have said student be apparently intrigued by the story enough to add her own ryo's worth.

She worried at her bottom lip. Perhaps that was it? Maybe he thought she was actually interested in the idea of the two of them together like... _that._ Oh... dear... KAMI!

"NO!" She practically screamed at him. He blinked at her. "Oh no!" She spluttered, rising to her feet and taking a step back. Her legs hit the coffee table and she fell into a sitting position. A tell-tale thunk indicated she had just knocked over the third shot she was going to tip out in tribute to Jiraiya but she ignored it as she tried to string together a sentence to explain herself. Without considering it, however, she just opened her mouth.

"I just wanted to fix it up a bit! I never considered- I mean, I wasn't paying attention to the characters or the fact that they were u- well! I, um... I just thought it would read better if – not that I'm a writer or anything! I wasn't thinking about u-us..." Her eyes were fixed firmly on her knees. She could feel the blood creeping up her neck and had no delusions as to the colour of her cheeks at that moment.

Obviously Kakashi had felt disgusted at the idea of the two of them together, it explained his reaction perfectly. She realised her babbling probably hadn't been very eloquent but at least he would understand (she hoped) what she had been doing. Surely he had realised the idea of them being used in a story together had outraged her? Though she could see why her editing it had perhaps hinted to otherwise.

She felt the all-too familiar prickle in the corner of her eye that indicated tears. Was she really that revolting to have warranted such an obviously despairing response? Surely he had overreacted somewhat. She realised he had _never _thought of her that way; indeed, she would be surprised if Kakashi had ever really stopped seeing her as his twelve-year-old student, but it seemed a bit harsh, especially as he was usually so kind and considerate of her feelings most of the time. Unless he was bored of course, but even his teasing was never done in a hurtful manner.

She could feel him looking at her and raised her eyes to his slowly, almost dreading to see what was in that grey orb. She realised he was schooling his expression. Years of being a shinobi had taught him how to appear emotionless and the eye he was giving her now was too well guarded for her to gauge the impact of her words.

For what felt like the longest of eternities passed between them. She had a feeling Kakashi was probably trying to fathom the easiest way to dismiss the subject before leaving as quickly as possible.

He made a small sound in his throat before saying slowly, "that was quite the reaction to a thought I hadn't really considered..."

Sakura said nothing. Apparently she had overreacted, but she was so confused by the situation she really couldn't think of what to say next. So she had been wrong, he hadn't thought she had some little crush and was rewriting Jiraiya's draft to reflect her own fantasises. That was a relief; but then, what had made him laugh so hard and then seem so discouraged?

For the briefest of moments, she replayed the sound of his laugh. The image of him curled up on himself, holding onto the couch for dear life. It had shocked her into absolute stillness. She never considered he could display such mirth. More than that, the sound had been so pleasant and warm, almost like a long lost comforter she could wrap around herself. She frowned slightly at the thought and was woken from her small reverie by his soft voice.

"Sakura..." He leant forward, his knees brushing hers such was their proximity. "Please don't worry yourself about me too much. It'll give you frown lines." He poked her forehead lightly and she could tell he was smiling at her. Perplexed as she still was, she couldn't help her lips reacting as they twitched into their own small smile.

He slouched back, bringing his feet up onto the small oak table beside her. "So,' he said, matter-of-factly. "You never told me why the tongue-on-pulse was a better sentence." Her cheeks flushed once more and Sakura coughed slightly. She could hear it in his voice. He was trying to lighten up the atmosphere by refusing to address his strange behaviour. It worked for her. She crossed her arms sulkily and glared up at him. "Never you mind," she snapped, albeit with less venom in her voice than usual.

"Oh go on, Sakura-chan," he grinned, "do tell – where has this little talent sprouted from?" Sakura stood, kicking his feet off the table so she could move past and slump onto the couch next to him with a heavy sigh. She could feel the damp material clinging to her skin from the spilt sake shot but decided to ignore it. For some reason she felt completely drained. Pulling her knees up, she tucked her toes under Kakashi's leg and tipped her head back onto the armrest. She felt him tense slightly and realised, too late, her actions were probably doing nothing to stymie the suspicion that she had an interest in him. Instead of whipping her feet away and causing more uneasiness between them, she kept them where they were and reminded herself that Kakashi had admitted that wasn't the case. Although he could just be saying that to spare her the mortification, she didn't really believe he would lie to her. Indeed, if he seriously thought it was a possibility she assumed he would address the issue more seriously. Student and sensei were taboo, strictly forbidden. Their relationship may not exactly be that anymore but it once was and she could not see someone like Kakashi seriously going for something like that even if he was a younger version of Jiraiya.

He appeared to relax again and neither said anything for a while. She supposed he was contemplating his own reaction earlier. She half wanted to pry into his mind and find out what it had been about, but she knew there was no way to get Kakashi to talk if he didn't feel like sharing.

"Sakura?"

"Mm?" She kept her eyes closed.

"I meant it,' he said casually, "it is better."

"Thanks, I guess."

There was another short silence, before – "seriously, I think you should look over the rest of it."

Sakura looked up at him slowly. Was he asking her to edit the story of a man that could really only be considered as the Daimyo of pornographic literature?

Kakashi cleared his throat, shifting slightly in his seat. "I'm never going to read a new Jiraiya novel again," he said softly. Sakura sighed and regarded him with a raised eyebrow. She had the awful feeling she was being played. His eye was round and looked for all the world like it belonged on Pakkun's face when the little pug was begging for a snack.

She could deny Naruto these eyes, she could even deny Ino if she really wanted to, but for some unknown reason, she found herself unable to refuse the man in front of her. That was a worrying thought.

"Fine," she sighed, holding out her hand. Kakashi handed over the pages and she saw his mask shift in a smile. "But it's not like it will be a whole novel."

Kakashi shrugged, "you never know, maybe you'll be inspired."

"Wha-?" Kakashi raised a hand and disappeared, temporarily flooding her small lounge room with smoke. Had Sakura just been conned into actually finishing this piece of filthy smut? Was that silver-haired moron serious?

She sighed and thought for a moment what it would be like if Kakashi wrote stories and someone she knew finished one off for her after his untimely death. She supposed up until his little display she wouldn't have really appreciated it, knowing exactly the kinds of things her sensei would write about, but it meant a lot to Kakashi and a part of her was always constantly trying to prove herself to him. This was just one more way to do that. With a sigh she rifled under the table for a notebook, picked up her pen an continued to read through the rest of the chapters, trying very hard to ignore the chagrin she felt whenever the 'lustrous, pink hair' was mentioned.

* * *

Kakashi watched as the kunoichi flipped through the pages. She thought she had hurt his feelings and tried to apologise. She thought Kakashi wanted her to finish because it meant a lot to him to read his departed friend and favourite authors work. Because it would make him feel close to a man he missed. She was quite kind-hearted behind those powerful fists.

He was a _very_ bad man.

* * *

Tsunade looked up as a small movement in the air announced someone's arrival. She raised an eyebrow and tried very hard to maintain the air of a calm and collected woman.

"I do hope you're here to deliver a thorough report," she quipped.

"No." The man before her said. She felt the all-too familiar twitch start in her eyebrow and narrowed her eyes in a way she knew made most of her subordinates wet themselves. Not this man, of course. Unperturbed as always, Kakashi leant casually against the railings next to her, surveying the village with a lazy, unimpressed expression, she assumed.

"Funny," he began, "how Jiraiya-sama's draft happens to show up the same week you tell me to seduce my old student." Tsunade said nothing, unmoving. She somehow felt, however, that her inaction did more to confirm Kakashi's theory than deny it.

"Even more hilarious," Kakashi continued, "that it should just so happen to portray a story of a handsome shinobi named Takashi and his beautiful, pink-haired conquest."

Again, Tsunade said nothing, turning bored eyes to her most elite jounin.

"And further still, how you seem so kind enough to let me keep it."

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "What's your point?" She snapped.

"Oh no point," Kakashi said lightly, "I just thought I would share an amusing story with my most esteemed Hokage."

Tsunade glared at the most irritating man she had ever met after Jiraiya. "Then I guess you can leave," she growled.

"But of course," Kakashi bowed, taking several steps away from her. "Oh," he exclaimed, turning his head to view her over his shoulder as he continued walking, hands stuffed into his pockets. "I want to congratulate you. Not many people can fool me with a henge. You can be very Naruto-esq when you try, Tsnuade-sama."

Tsunade turned away from the White Fang's son, mostly to hide her smile. When she had first discovered the unfinished fourth book she had wanted to read the last writings of her late teammate, ultimately regretting it as soon as she realised who it was about. She had cursed Jiraiya before locking it away. When she realised what the mission to Hatchimitsu was going to entail for Sakura, however, she thought the smutty, unfinished novel might be just the thing to help her apprentice begin seeing her former sensei in a new light.

True, she didn't think it would be long before Kakashi realised it had been her guised as Naruto who had told him about the draft, but he had pieced it together quicker than she could have imagined.

"A prodigy indeed," she muttered.

"Sorry, Tsunade-sama?"

"Oh, nothing," Tsunade waved her hand absently at an obviously harassed Shizune. The girl worried far too much in the Hokage's opinion. "What is it?" She asked, wondering if she really wanted to know.

"Oh," spluttered Shizune, "I was wondering if we could get security cameras in the staff rooms at the hospital?"

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, curious. Shizune held out five blazing orange roses. "They keep showing up," she muttered,

"I'm not paying for cameras to catch you're secret admirer; you're a kunoichi of the Leaf – do it yourself!"

"H-hai..." Shizune stammered. She gazed at the flowers thoughtfully for a moment, before snapping back to attention. "Oh, and reports have come in from the border. Kaito Fujioka has been spotted moving towards Tea Country."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed. It appeared Sakura's target was making his way towards his vacation spot earlier than they intended. "We need more intel," Tsunade said, "tell the team in the field to keep an eye on his movements and get someone on Hatchimitsu to double-check his booking dates."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Shizune replied dutifully.

"Oh, and Shizune," the Godaime drawled, "It's nice to see you have your priorities in order."

Shizune flushed "S-sorry, Hokage-sama!" Tsunade waved her hand in dismissal. She had been in love once; she knew how these matters could override everything else. She turned honey-coloured eyes onto the village before her, worry spilling from them despite herself. True, they had faced threats far greater than this deadly new kunai before, but it was becoming increasingly risky to send her shinobi out on missions. She needed these things off the market as soon as possible, and they could not miss their chance to intercept Kaito while he gets his kicks on the little resort Island.

She tossed a blonde lock over her shoulder frowning. Those kicks would be none other than Sakura, and she could only pray to whatever gods would listen that the little cherry blossom would be ready when the time came.

* * *

**A/N **Ok, I hope things aren't moving too slowly for you! It just frustrates me when people write about these characters and suddenly they're in love over night. Anyone who has truly felt love knows it's more beautiful the longer it is worked at


	7. Chapter 7 Simple Truths

**A/N: **thank you for your patience everyone. As always, reviews keep me motivated! This one was hard for me to write as I didn't want to jump ahead with the development of their relationship too much but I still wanted to keep you readers interested – its hard finding a balance! Hope you enjoy

**Chapter 7: Simple Truths' **

I may not always be right there, not right there by your side but I take you everywhere, in me you reside

-Cameron Dailey, Just us two.

_She flew through the trees, terror snapping at her heels. In all her time as a kunoichi, she could not remember having moved so fast. Something was building inside of her chest, some unknown horror as her mind jumbled images of what she might face when she arrived at her destination. He just had to be ok. Never in her life had she felt something so strong, and knowing finally that he felt the same made her realise that-_

Sakura slammed the pages she was reading onto her table with an unimpressed grunt. She had been inside her apartment for the last three days basically re-writing the Icha Icha draft. She liked to think it was because she knew Kakashi was waiting for it and she didn't want to let him down, but if she was completely honest with herself, she was really enjoying it. Or at least, she had been.

What on earth did she know what it felt like to be loved by anyone as much as she had loved Sasuke? Sure, she could draw on that experience for her female protagonists point of view, but Sakura hadn't the faintest idea what it was like knowing that someone adored you completely. She had kept waiting and waiting for the young Uchiha to feel the same and it had never happened and nothing had arisen since then that could give her an inkling of what it meant to be someone's entire world.

She had spent the majority of her teenage years pining after a boy who clearly had no interest in her. She was pretty sure the Uchiha had been an asexual mess which at least meant there was nothing wrong with her. She had been hit on by plenty of guys so eventually had come to the belated conclusion that she had thrown too much of herself into the prospect of one man. It was clearly still showing all these years later as she found it very hard to entertain the idea of dating anyone. There was just something inside her that pulled her back every time. She could never go through with it and so here she was, a twenty-year old virgin. Perhaps if she had been a civilian it wouldn't have mattered, she could have continued living in bliss, ignorant of the fact true love didn't just happen. As it was, she was a kunoichi who had experienced far too much heartbreak in her already short life. She blamed herself mostly for developing such a ridiculous obsession.

The thing that bothered her most was that she had fallen so completely without having the slightest idea of what it actually felt like to _be _loved. She had read about it_, _seen it in movies and at the few weddings she had attended, but she was oblivious.

She sighed heavily. Now that she had started it and invested so much time in the thing, she didn't want to stop. She really had little else to do anyway with Tsunade ordering her off duty until her mission. Well, that wasn't strictly true. She was supposed to be using this time to train and also be keeping an eye on Kakashi, neither of which had been overly appealing to her, especially when it had been so easy to engross herself in the Icha Icha draft.

She was missing the hospital a little though and wondered if she could get away with a visit. She hadn't heard much more about those mysterious kunai and while no news was good news in her opinion, she still should be looking into how to deal with the next one when it showed up. She knew this was far from over.

Deciding a walk would probably do her some good, she put on her usual clothes and ran a hand through her messed tresses, doing nothing to tame the pink strands spiking in all directions. Deciding she was unlikely to run into anyone important anyway, she left her hair down and made her way towards the hospital.

Sakura thought that perhaps she needed to glean the insight of someone older who had experienced love before. She thought about broaching the topic with Tsunade-sama, but whenever Dan was mentioned her shishou obtained such a look of loss that Sakura didn't want to bring it up. She had no doubt her busty mentor would know exactly what it felt like to race towards the man who loved her, knowing he was likely dying, but it seemed far too painful to bring up.

Sakura thought idly of visiting Kurenai. The woman had been showered by affection from Asuma, regardless of how secretive the late shinobi had tried to be. Ino would always laugh at the unsubtle way the son of the Third would buy flowers from her. Kurenai always seemed happy to talk about her late lover, but Sakura felt a little awkward. Partly because the jounin had lost someone else close to her that week and partly because Asuma was dead. No matter how much she enjoyed talking about him, surely it would be upsetting eventually to think about someone you loved so much not being there anymore?

Sakura bit her lip and frowned. Did she know anyone who hadn't lost their partner at some point? It appeared in the shinobi world it was inevitable that one day, your loved one may not come home from a mission. Her parents were civilians, so that was out. With no one springing to mind, she sighed and stepped into the sparklingly clean hospital.

The familiar smell of disinfectant hit her nostrils as the low buzz of machines reverberated through the building. She instantly felt more relaxed and sidled up to the desk with a wave.

"Anything interesting?" She enquired.

"No, Sakura-san," Minako replied. Sakura liked the young medic. She had an easy, bright smile and long blonde hair she let fall freely around her shoulders. She reminded Sakura of Ino in looks but the young chuunin before her was the complete opposite of her obnoxious and rowdy friend.

"I thought you were supposed to have some time off?" She asked, brows knitting in a cute, confused way.

"Well, yeah, but I'm bored of my own company." Sakura gave her a shrug and walked off grinning.

"Looks like Tsunade owes me 50 ryo," Shizune remarked, coming up alongside her pink-haired junior.

"Oh?" Sakura was unsurprised Tsunade had lost yet another bet.

"It took you 3 days before you came back, Tsunade-sama gave you at least a week."

Sakura rolled her eyes. Her old mentor may as well throw her money away. "You knew it would be less than a week?" She asked her senpai, wondering whether there was an insult to her complete lack of social life hidden in this bet.

Shizune smiled at her knowingly before handing her a chart. "You can stay for an hour or two if you want, but don't let Tsunade hear you're flaking on your training." With a wave, the older medic entered a patients room, leaving Sakura to wander on over to the next.

She hadn't really glanced at the chart, so was surprised to walk in only to find Choji lying on the bed in obvious discomfort. He had no wounds that she could see and automatically drew her conclusion without even performing the examination.

"You've come in from lunch, haven't you?" She asked the Akamichi, obvious exasperation in her tone.

"I couldn't help it Sakura!" He clutched his stomach protectively as he whined.

"Ugh," Sakura sighed, "I should have stayed at home."

* * *

Ino Yamanaka liked to believe there was no kunoichi in the entire Leaf village that was as confident and courageous as she was, which was why she was furious at the fact she was currently crouched behind a garbage bin hiding from a certain lazy teammate of hers as he sauntered up the street. Honestly, could he walk _any slower?_ She cursed silently.

Obviously the blonde knew she wouldn't be able to hide from Shikamaru forever, but it was just too soon. She could not _believe_ she had let this happen. Try as she might, Ino _still _couldn't remember how her drunken attempts to seduce Sai had ended with her waking up alone with the vague memories of _Nara_ _Shikamaru _moaning in pleasure underneath her. She felt the heat rise to her cheeks and sink to lower places at the thought- then chased them away appalled at herself. She did _not _want to remember it. She wanted to bury the whole thing in pieces deep in the Nara woods along with that bastard, Hidan.

Poking her head out from her hiding place she spied the village genius slouching off at a lazy pace that would have made Sakura's sensei proud and cursed. She didn't dare move yet in case he turned around for some reason, but the stench was becoming too much. The pungent smell was enough to make her heave and she thanked the First she didn't possess Kiba's nose at that moment.

"Umm..." she spun around and found herself looking up at her late sensei's nephew.

"Hey!" She gave him her brightest smile, figuring it would work on teenage boys the way it worked on the men she knew. "It's Konohamaru, right?'

"Um, yeah..." he scratched at his black hair, messing up the already ramshackle waves.

"You're probably wondering why I'm hiding back here," –he nodded at this- "well you see, there's this guy, and he was ever so mean to me." Ino faked a sob, putting on her best kicked-puppy act. Konohamaru clenched his fists and fixed her with a determined look, reminding her forcibly of the Leaf's knucklehead Jinchuuriki.

"It's un-gentlemanly to be mean to a lady!" He declared, and Ino had to force down the grin that threatened to take over her lips. "Point him out and I'll teach him some manners!"

Ino sent him in Shikamaru's direction and could barely contain her laughter as she watched the number one tactician of the village being accosted by a group of teenagers. Apparently Konohamaru had taken it upon himself to enlist the help of his fellow genin teammates and the Nara heir had been completely taken by surprise.

Ino was still laughing to herself happily as she made her way into Choji's hospital room. She had been completely unsurprised by the news he had again been taken in for indigestion but had decided to pay him a visit anyway. She had not, however, expected to see Forehead when she walked through the door. The laughter died as she caught sight of the pink-haired kunoichi's face. The accusation in those eyes was undeniable. _She knew._

* * *

Sakura glared kunai at her oldest friend. Throwing the chart down, she didn't say a word as she brushed past her and headed for the staff room. There was no doubt in her mind that Ino would follow so she didn't slow her pace until she slammed her way through the door and ordered the few nurses who were helping themselves to coffee out.

Sakura had begun mentally gearing herself up for the fight that would no doubt come the second she realised it was Ino at the door of Choji's room, so when she spun around to let the blonde Pig have it she was amazed to see a completely defeated look in those pale eyes. The words died in Sakura's throat as she watched Ino sink into a chair and put her head in her hands.

"Go," Ino muttered piteously, "tell me I'm an idiot, yell at me for not telling you sooner, call me a pig..."

Sakura folded her arms across her chest; a little sullen Ino had stolen away her anger. Instead she sat down opposite her friend and took a few deep breaths. She remembered how she had wanted to seem more mature, so when she finally felt she was able to control her voice, she simply said, "tell me what happened."

Ino regarded her, puzzled. She ran her fingers through her long ponytail a few times before settling back in the chair with a sigh. "I don't really know... I honestly was trying for Sai."

Sakura felt her jaw clench but she managed to keep it shut. _Well done, _Inner-Sakura praised, in a surprised tone.

"I just don't remember anything and honestly, I was kind of ashamed."

"Of Shikamaru?" Sakura wondered out-loud.

"Yes! Well... and no...I don't know." The blonde shrugged at her and Sakura found herself letting go of her wounded pride. She had been so irritated Ino hadn't mentioned this to her when they were supposed to be best friends, but the look of complete helplessness on her face made Sakura realise her friend was just utterly confused. She looked so lost that Sakura placed a hand on Ino's knee and squeezed lightly. "I know Shikamaru is upset with himself – he doesn't want to lose you as his friend."

Ino's eyes widened. "_He_ told you?"

"Well, in a round-about way, I kind of figured it out while he was talking."

Ino sighed. "I thought he was supposed to be smart?"

Sakura chuckled and stood up. "Want to get some tea?"

Ino smiled up at her, "please."

Sakura had no qualms about leaving the hospital after only seeing one patient. Technically she wasn't even supposed to be there and at least now she wouldn't feel guilty about abandoning the training she should have been doing. Comforting her friend was far more important than preparing herself to torture another human being.

She spent a happy afternoon sitting with Ino in their favourite tea shop, trying to figure out the easiest way for the blonde to even be in the same room as her teammate. Eventually, Sakura had convinced her to call on Shikamaru to talk it out. They were on the same team; after all, no doubt they would be forced together on a mission soon. Better to get it out of the way rather than have it cause problems later on, Sakura had mentioned pointedly. She could tell her friend was less than thrilled with the idea, but Ino had agreed reluctantly and set off, deciding she may as well get it over with.

After they had departed, Sakura realised she had nowhere to be. Everyone she might have visited would be busy training or on a mission. She could pay a visit to the bath houses or perhaps take a walk up the monument. The notion of visiting Kakashi strayed across her mind and her feet had started moving in the direction of his apartment before the thought had even finished. So surprised was she at her bodies apparent willingness to see her old sensei that she forced herself to turn around and head towards the looming faces of the five Hokages.

_What had that been about? _

She wandered down the streets, wondering if it was worth contemplating. She had been awfully confused by the Copy Ninja's behaviour last time they had been together and she was beginning to feel a little too comfortable around him. The man had convinced her to write porn for crying out loud. In fact, in the past week, she had probably spent more time with him than anyone else, which was just strange.

She thought back over the past year.

Kakashi came and went like the full moon. She would see him in the streets or in the Hokage tower between missions. Sometimes he would join them for lunch or training and occasionally they would all head out on a mission as Team Kakashi but that hadn't occurred in quite a long time. If she really thought about it, the two of them had probably spent time alone together perhaps a grand total of five times. She smiled as she remembered how he had sat with her for several hours on her roof top a few months back. He had clearly just come in from a mission, as his clothes were in tatters and the bags under his eyes indicated he hadn't slept properly in days, but he refused to leave when she told him to go and rest, insisting he wanted to stay and relax a while. He always seemed to show up when she needed some company, she realised, remembering how upset she had been the time before that when he had found her outside the Hokage tower staring at the sky. She couldn't even remember why she had been feeling so down on that day he had cheered her up so effectively.

She smiled to herself as she climbed the stairs. Team 7 had truly been blessed the day they received Hatake Kakashi as their sensei. He may have been the scariest thing in the world back then, but her goofy, kind-hearted sensei was a real softie deep, _deep_ down. When he wasn't trying to humiliate her in some way.

The lazy afternoon swept around her as she climbed, a light sheen of sweat beginning to form over her forehead. Summer was drawing to a close but the temperature would only decrease when the sun sank behind the trees. She passed a few people on the way up, smiling and nodding politely as they walked by. A small family holding a picnic basket were coming down from the monument, the little boy laughing happily and skipping down the stairs when he suddenly lost his footing.

His shrill cry split the hazy silence as he clutched at a bleeding knee. His mother and father crouched beside him, trying to comfort him. Sakura smiled at the caring parents and sat in front of the little boy. "Here," she said with a smile. Placing her hand over his knee, she let the cool, healing chakra flow from her hand. The boy gasped slightly and his wide eyes lit up with the faint blue glow as his skin stitched itself back together.

"Thank you so much," the mother smiled at her.

"What do you say, Kyou?" His father asked.

The boy looked between his parents before turning large, cerulean eyes on Sakura. He smiled slightly and a faint blush appeared on his cheeks.

"Arigatou, nee-san."

Sakura smiled and ruffled his blonde hair. She reminded him a lot of Naruto. Stepping aside, she waved as they continued down the hillside.

* * *

Kakashi watched her with a smile which faded as quickly as it came. Everyone knew Sakura was strong, wilful and stubborn, but few understood the kindness that emanated from her. She was so _good- _from the top of that bubblegum pink head to the tip of her toes. He was considering heading home when he had spotted her making her way up to the monument and saw the boy fall. Had it occurred to him to help? Not really, the parents were there after all, he would have been fine. Of course Sakura stopped, she was a medic. Kakashi couldn't help feeling she would have stopped even if she wasn't.

He watched her move slowly towards his place in the trees. He had been sitting there idly for the last couple of hours, switching between reading Tactics and dozing in the afternoon heat. Ordinarily he would have set himself up on top of his sensei's spiked hair, but it was too open and he had been attracting chuunin running messages from the Hokage or ANBU like Pakkun to a biscuit barrel. The Godaime was still furious he had yet to hand in his report and ANBU were requesting he help train up a few candidates for captaincy, but Kakashi was in no mood to entertain anyone's summons today. Whereas most people would be happy to take some time off for themselves and relax, Kakashi found himself becoming increasingly frustrated. He was bored. Bored with a very controversial mission hanging over his head.

"Yo," he called out as Sakura drew level with the tree he was sprawled in. She jumped with a start and peered up at him.

"Oh, hi sensei."

He looked down at her and she stared back at him, green eyes regarding him warily. A few charged seconds past while Kakashi waited for her to speak. She tugged on her hair and apparently found something very interesting to look at around the base of his tree, for she wandered over slowly.

"Enjoying your time off?" Kakashi cocked an eyebrow at her. She was never exactly the one for small talk. At least, not with him anyway.

"For someone who is supposed to be keeping an eye on me you sure have been vacant from my life these past few days," he noted with a lazy drawl. She fixed him with a cool stare.

"Who says I haven't? My concealment skills are pretty good these days."

Kakashi grunted and turned a page. "Can't conceal smell from me, Sakura."

He felt the indignation coming off her in waves. "I do _not_ smell!"

He chuckled. "I never said it was a bad smell."

He chanced a glance in her direction and couldn't help smiling at the confused pout. She cocked her head sideways at him. "So... what do I smell like?"

He gave an exaggerated sniff. "Right now, strongly of vanilla, jasmine and tea leaves. The Yamanaka girl always wears the same perfume, so you've been with her, probably at a tea house." He shrugged as her mouth popped open.

"That's just..."

"Cool?" He offered.

"Creepy," she countered.

She sat herself on the ground and leant back against the tree, craning her neck to look up at him. "You have a pretty cosy life, huh?"

"When I'm not getting cut open by S-Class criminals."

"Well, yeah."

They sat in silence for a while, Kakashi turning a page of his book every few minutes while Sakura picked half-heartedly at the grass around her. He wondered whether she was gearing up to ask him something or if, like him, she had nothing better to do than sit around in the sunshine.

"How's the story progressing?" He asked the top of her head.

She gave a frustrated sigh and folded her arms over her chest. Kakashi could picture the disgruntled look on her face, and when she turned to look up at him, it was the perfect resemblance of what his imagination had provided him with, complete with scrunched up nose.

"I tried, honestly, but I don't think I'm very good."

Kakashi swung his legs over the branch and lowered his book to look at her. For reasons he knew were due to serious psychological damage, he wanted Sakura to write the novel. It had occurred to him as the simplest way of understanding what she might want or need from a perspective lover, and generally make his mission a little easier. Plus, he was obsessed with finding out what little fantasies might be playing inside the head of Team Seven's little cherry blossom. He could try and pretend it was simply due to the fact he had to find out, but he had spend the last few days taking perverse pleasure in thinking about the hundreds of possibilities. She had to keep going.

"Perhaps it's something I could help you with?"

She blushed. Why, Kakashi had no idea, he just knew he wanted her to continue writing.

"It-it's actually... well, I don't think I have the necessary, umm- experience to write about... certain- ugh..."

She pulled at her hair and bit her bottom lip. Kakashi dropped down beside her as gracefully as a cat and ruffled her hair before sitting down, perhaps a little closer to her than she had been expecting given the way her eyes widened slightly when she felt his arm brush against hers.

"No experience?" he asked lightly, with an obvious lilt to his voice that she clearly didn't appreciate, judging by the scowl she threw at him.

"I just... I don't know what it feels like to be someone's whole world." Kakashi blinked at her slowly. That was quite an admission, and surely not true.

"You mean an awful lot to Naruto." He pointed out. Apparently this was not what she wanted to hear as she sighed quite loudly.

"That's not what I mean...I've never felt like someone's absolute favourite person. I don't know how to write about it because I've never known it." She shot a sharp look in his direction. "Don't you dare say anything perverted. I don't care if all you're after are cheap thrills – I want this to have a proper storyline."

Kakashi held up his hands in a gesture of peace. "For someone who wasn't too thrilled about the idea you sure are defensive about it."

She huffed at him and turned away.

He considered her a moment. A thought had popped into his head at her words but Kakashi had trained himself years ago to think things through before he said them; unless he had had far too much sake, of course. Then again, it was a simple truth, and she seemed to really need some cheering up.

"You're my favourite person," he offered, with a genuine smile and a crease to his eye.

He heard her small intake of breath and her narrowed eyes bore into his almost suspiciously. Honestly, he was almost hurt. Almost.

"What?"

"That can't be true," she stated, "you have other comrades whose company you enjoy more than mine and even though you're about as open with us as a nun's legs I'm sure you have some secret girlfriend stashed away somewhere or something."

"Pretty imagery aside- and let me assure you, Sakura-chan, that even a nun can be persuaded- there is no one I would rather waste my afternoon's with."

She gazed at him with uncertainty, a small blush creeping up her neck. Well, he wasn't exactly lying. Of all his comrades, she was certainly the least annoying, surprisingly. He didn't think she really expected much from him, so he never had to make an effort around her. Plus if he ever found himself getting bored she was always quick to anger which amused him to no end.

"Thank you," she mumbled softly, clearly taken aback by his words.

Kakashi settled back against the tree, putting his hands behind his head and closing his eye, letting the sun warm his face. He let the silence fall around them and for a time, considered taking another nap. His thoughts were becoming a little sluggish when Sakura finally broke through the quiet.

"Sensei," she asked slowly, "have you ever been in love?"

He cracked his eye open a little to consider her. She had drawn her knees up under her chin and was resting her head upon them. She had a curious yet dejected look about her and Kakashi wondered whether this was worth getting into, especially if she was thinking about bringing up Sasuke. He re-closed his eye and decided, since he appeared to be all honesty this afternoon, to answer.

"Nope."

He heard her clothes shift slightly as she lifted her head to regard him. He could feel her eyes boring into the side of his face.

"What, never?"

He shook his head slightly.

"That's... that's a little sad, sensei."

"Why?" he asked, opening his eye again and giving her his full attention.

She worried at her lip with her teeth, twirling a strand of hair around her fingers, indicating she was thinking hard about something.

"Well," she said finally, obviously contemplating each word. "You're almost 40, and you've never had a relationship where you've loved someone. It must be kind of lonely."

He supposed she was right, he was alone the majority of the time, but he rarely felt lonely. He shrugged at her. "If on the rare occasion I find myself in need of company, I go and find some."

"What, just like that?" She clicked her finger for emphasis and he smiled.

"Just like that."

She looked at him for a few moments before turning to stare unseeingly into the trees around them. "Wish I could do that," she muttered finally.

"You could," he said simply.

She shook her head. "I want a relationship sensei, not your idea of company."

"How do you know what my idea of company is?" He sat up a little straighter, letting his arms fall into his lap. She gave a derisive snort and pointed at his Icha Icha novel. He chuckled and gave it an affectionate pat.

"Nothing wrong with spending a few weeks with someone then moving on," he said matter-of-factly. She was looking at him curiously.

Thinking he may overdo it if he spent anymore time in her company today, Kakashi stood up and stretched, feeling his back crack a few times. Lying in a tree for several hours at a time and falling asleep on his couch was playing hell with his body but he doubted he would be changing his habits any time soon. He was just about to say his farewell when a bird swooped low and screeched at him.

He rubbed his head. "Guess I'm needed."

Another bird fluttered close and screeched at Sakura. They gave each other understanding glances and Kakashi waited while Sakura stood and dusted herself off. They began their descent from the monument, neither one appearing to be in much of a hurry considering their Hokage had some apparent urgent need of them. Kakashi opened his book and decided he had best keep his mouth closed as much as possible. Sakura wasn't particularly chatty at the moment which worked in his favour. She was probably mulling over his words.

Honestly, so was he. Kakashi may admire people or occasionally take a liking to someone, but he never voiced those feelings aloud, and most certainly not to the people they were about. He supposed it was necessary given the ever-looming mission but his decision to say it was still a little vague – 'because it was true' hardly seemed like a convincing argument in his mind as he often kept truths to himself. It had cheered her up a little, he supposed, and a happy teammate was always better than a miserable one.

The two didn't say a word to each other as they made their way into the Hokage Tower but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence in Kakashi's opinion. Sakura seemed so deep in thought she was hardly even aware of his presence and she blinked a few times when she found herself in front of Tsunade's office. He heard a small sigh escape her as she knocked on the door.

"Enter."

Sakura pushed her way inside and Kakashi slouched in after her.

"About time!" The Godaime snapped.

Kakashi glanced up at her. She seemed a little flustered. Scrolls were scattered around her desk of what appeared to be mission requests and shinobi profiles and several other people were standing around her. Two ninja he knew to be in the intel devision were looking rather disgruntled, the younger of the two scratching his head and leaving his long red hair sticking up in places. He noticed two rather squashed looking orange roses had been thrown haphazardly next to a coffee mug, a trail of petals making their way around the desk. Shizune seemed deeply engrossed in a book of some sort and hadn't even looked up to greet them. How rude.

"We have a small situation happening in one of the villages half a day from here. Apparently quite a lot of food and small pricey possessions were stolen last night and they need someone to pick up a trail and bring the stuff back if possible. Shouldn't take you more than a few days." The Hokage didn't even bother looking up as she rattled all this off, instead giving her attention to something in her draws. Apparently everyone was being quite rude in here today.

"I thought Kakashi-sensei wasn't supposed to be going on a mission for a few weeks?" Sakura asked, confused.

Tsunade looked up at this, eyes moving from Sakura to rest on Kakashi. He gave her a winning smile, concealed as ever by his mask. He could see the Godaime fighting to roll her eyes as she said with a nonchalant shrug, "his ninken should make light work of tracking the culprit, it was a no-brainer."

"What about Kiba-kun?" Sakura offered.

"He's busy," the Godaime snapped, "as am I." She threw a small scroll at Kakashi which he plucked from the air effortlessly.

"I expect you back in a few days," the Hokage brought her hands together and rested her chin on them, regarding her elite jounin. "Then you can resume your training." Her eyes focused on Sakura as she said this and Kakashi felt his little teammate squirm guiltily beside him. She shot him a begrudging look, clearly blaming him for her lack of motivation, which he hardly thought was fair.

"In the meantime," Tsunade continued, "Kakashi can impart his wisdom upon you."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes at a smiling Tsunade. The woman was despicable.

"That will be all," she said, voice dripping with honey.

Sakura bowed, "Yes, shishou," and made her way out of the office.

Kakashi stared at the Hokage a moment longer, making sure she realised he was not impressed. She merely waved at him then turned her attention back to the shinobi around her. Trudging out, he opened the scroll. It was a basic C-Rank mission and frankly, he was insulted.

"I'm a jounin," he muttered to no one in-particular. Obviously this was Tsunade's way of making sure he and Sakura spent some time alone, and even though his more rational side agreed it was a good idea, he couldn't help feeling a little resentful at the simplicity of the mission, and the fact the Hokage thought he needed help in the first place.

"Where is it?" Sakura asked.

"Tamaji," he replied.

Sakura nodded.

They continued on in silence until they were outside. The sun was finally beginning to set and a small breeze was blowing through the village. Kakashi felt the promise of winter in the wind as it raised goosebumps on his arms. He was happy for the end of summer, not too impressed with the sticky heat he had been longing for autumn ever since spring ended. Sakura shivered beside him, rubbing her hands up and down her bare arms. Kakashi watched her for a moment before bringing his eyes to hers as she began to speak.

"So, first thing in the morning?" she asked.

"Hm?"

She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Shall we leave first thing in the morning?"

Kakashi looked around before regarding the sky thoughtfully. There were a few clouds moving in, though nothing that seemed to be threatening rain. He knew if he went home he would no doubt lay around his apartment for hours before falling asleep at some unholy hour, only to wake up miserable tomorrow. He knew it was his own fault for sleeping in so late, but he enjoyed travelling at night and he was in the mood for running.

"How about we leave in half an hour?"

Sakura blinked up at him, clearly put out.

"Well... ok." As she turned away, Kakashi lightly took hold of her elbow, bringing her around to face him.

"Sakura," he began, keeping his hand on her arm. She looked at it wonderingly before turning her eyes up at him. "You and I are actually quite alike," he said with a smile. "I know to a young girl, falling in love seems like the only thing in the world worth doing, but I promise you, there is nothing wrong with being completely loved by your friends and comrades. You don't need anyone to feel validated."

She regarded him thoughtfully for a moment, before grinning at him. "So I'm going to become a perverted old lady who writes porn?"

"One can only hope."

She giggled and he gave her arm a soft squeeze, smiled at her and began making his way down the street.

"Bring the draft," he called over his shoulder. He was dying to read it, even more intrigued since their conversation earlier.

Kakashi strolled down the roads of Konoha, one hand in his pocket, the other clutching his book as always. He ignored the calls of good evening as he usually did and sighed as he felt a familiar presence sidle up beside him.

"I challenge you!"

Kakashi just kept walking.

"Just like my eternal rival to act so cool!" Kakashi didn't even bother glancing up. Spend enough time with a person and you needn't look at them to tell their expression. Gai would no doubt be wearing his usual determined grin, green spandex practically glowing by the light of the lanterns.

"I'm on my way out for a mission, Gai."

"Oh!" He made several passers-by jump with his exclamation, and Kakashi suppressed a groan. He loved Gai, he was a great comrade, incredible fighter and his high spirits were often motivating in the thick of battle. There was almost no other shinobi he would trust at his back as much as Gai, save his students, but the man was almost intolerable when they were in the village.

"I wish you great fortune, my rival! I expect nothing less than victory from you!"

"Naturally," Kakashi muttered.

"Let us postpone rivalry battle number 305 until you return!"

Kakashi simply nodded. He was looking forward to it almost as much as a kunai through the chest. At least he had the pleasure of choosing this time. He half contemplated an ice-cream eating competition. He would let Gai win simply so he could laugh at the expression on the green beast's face when his sensitive teeth kicked in.

An hour and a half later, Kakashi sauntered up to the gates with a happy wave at his obviously disgruntled teammate.

"Yo," he said, making sure his voice sounded as happy as he could make it. He chuckled inwardly at her dark expression and followed as she abruptly turned and stormed through the gates of Konoha.

"Have fun," Kotetsu called, grinning at the Copy Ninja. He and Izumo clearly believed going on a mission with a grumpy Sakura would be terrible, judging by their faces, but they weren't privy to Kakashi's knowledge of the pink-haired terror. She would be fine in an hour, mostly because she could hardly fight with someone who was too lazy to respond.


End file.
